The Children of the Prophecy
by The Clockwork Narrator
Summary: Artemis Fowl was never one for believing in mythology. But when an attack from a mythological creature sends him to a place called Camp Half-blood, he isn't sure what to believe. There he learns about a prophecy that will change the world and him forever
1. Artemis

**Heyy guysss, its me again! So, I am starting with my NEWEST fanfic. It's an Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter mashup and I can guarantee it's going to be more than awesome. If not, then I tried my best. ANYWAY, be prepared for many surprises and laughs along the way! (If you don't get surprised and/or laugh, then I tried my best) . Sooo, yes. Enjoy! And don't worry, there will be no singing in this story. **

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**The Children of the Prophecy**

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**Artemis**

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**Library, Fowl Manor, 8:00 pm**

"Beckett? What in the world are you doing?" demanded Artemis Fowl junior as he watched his two-year old little brother strap his wrists down on the armrests of a chair.

"Myles told me too," replied Beckett smiling "It's a surprise!"

"Beckett, you know how I hate surprises," said Artemis, struggling under the wrist straps "And how on earth are you able to reach the armrests anyway?"

Beckett leaped down and held up the stool he'd been standing on proudly. "Stool!"

"Ah yes," said Artemis "The stool. Why didn't I think of that?"

Beckett waddled away with the stool and, after placing it in a corner, sat down on the carpeted floor and began to play with a stuffed pony. Artemis continued to struggle, trying to loosen the straps with his movements. The attempt only made him tired and his wrists turned slightly pink from the friction.

Artemis sighed in exasperation. His mother _had_ to have two intelligent and clever twins. But he couldn't complain. It was most probably genetic. Still, it was very hard to believe that despite the fact that he was an internationally known boy-genius, often times he could not surpass the cleverness of his two brothers.

"So, Beckett," said Artemis, watching his brother play with his toy 'What is this surprise Myles has prepared for me?"

"He said it's secret," replied Beckett, smiling cheekily.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell your big brother about it?"

Beckett thought about it for a moment. "No."

Just then, the door opened and Myles came in, beaming proudly. He was wearing an oversized lab gown and had his stuffed lab assistant Professor Primate tucked under his arm. In his right hand, he held a medium sized salve container.

"Good evening, Artemis!" he greeted his brother. He turned to Beckett. "Beckett, can you get the step ladder for me, please?"

"Okay!" said Beckett, dropping his toy and scurrying away.

"What's that, Myles?" asked Artemis, trying not to appear anxious. Myles set down Professor primate and smiled up at him.

"My latest experiment," he replied "I worked on it the whole day."

"Ah, and what is this experiment of yours?"

Myles opened the container and showed him the contents. Inside was a slimy green gel that looked suspiciously like phlegm. Artemis cringed in disgust. _Myles spent the whole day working on this? _

"Oh…my," commented Artemis, swallowing his distaste "What is it?"

"A special kind of hair gel," replied Myles. Beckett arrived with the stepladder and set it up for his twin. The ladder was tall enough so that Myles was slightly taller than Artemis's head.

"What kind of special would that be?" asked Artemis as Myles reached the top of the ladder.

"You'll see," replied Myles mischievously. He dipped his fingers into the gel and started to rub it on Artemis's hair. The gel sent a refreshing chill down his scalp and the scent of mint filled his nostrils.

"I'm impressed, Myles," noted Artemis, closing his eyes "This is actually very nice."

"Thank you," said Myles. He exchanged a cheeky grin with Beckett. Artemis has no idea what they were doing to his hair.

"So, why did you decided to test it on me?"

"Well, seeing as Mother and Father are out for their 10 year anniversary and since Butler is more or less bald, you were the only option." Artemis couldn't help but think this was a reasonable idea.

'And…done!" said Myles. He climbed down the ladder and went to get a mirror. While Myles was gone, Artemis felt something strange on his scalp, like something was pulling his hair up. He saw Beckett sniggering in front of him.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Beckett said nothing. He continued to laugh.

Myles returned with a big mirror. He and Beckett held it up for Artemis to look at himself. Artemis threw his hands up on his head in shock.

"What have you done?" he cried. His hair stuck out like stalagmites on all sides of his head. He looked like someone had given him an electric shock. He ran his hands through it. They felt like stone. Myles and Beckett were already on the floor, dying with laughter.

"I can't believe it worked!" cried Myles, gasping for breath.

"Myles, what is this?" demanded Artemis angrily. "This isn't funny."

"It's my instant solidifying hair gel!" said Myles, wiping his eyes "Immediately solidifies hair on application!"

"Genius Myles!" cried Beckett, rolling on the floor laughing.

"How do you reverse this then?" demanded Artemis, tugging at his solid hair.

Myles stopped laughing and scratched his head. "Um…I forgot…"

Artemis shot his brother a devastated look. "You WHAT?"

"I know I wrote it down," said Myles, trying to remember "But…I forgot where I put it…"

"Myles, you little—!" said Artemis, getting up from his chair. Just then, Butler entered the room.

"Alright boys," he said "Time for…" His voice trailed off when he saw the young master's crazy hair. He blinked in confusion.

"Um, Artemis," he said, pointing at his hair "Why is…"

Artemis sighed in exasperation. "Myles made me his guinea pig to test his hair gel. Now he can't remember how to reverse it." He glared at his little brother, who cowered away in fear.

"Ah well," said Butler "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon. Alright, Beckett, Myles, time for bed."

"I want story!" demanded Beckett pouting.

"No," said Artemis indignantly "I am not doing any more favors for you two." He picked up the mirror and looked at himself again "Not after what you've done to my hair."

"But—" began Myles. Artemis glared at him again.

"No, Myles," he snapped "You've done enough."

Suddenly, his brothers began to cry. The sound seemed to fill the entire library. Artemis tried to ignore it, but the crying intensified. His brothers began to roll on the floor and throw tantrums. Butler tried to control them, but he did so in vain.

"Artemis, I really think you should read them something," said Butler after a few minutes of trying to calm them down.

All the wailing made Artemis's patience thin. He couldn't stand it anymore. The annoying noise was deafening. The guilt he felt for making them cry wasn't easing the pain at all.

"Alright! Alright! Fine!" cried Artemis, finally giving in. Beckett and Myles stopped crying and began to cheer with delight. Artemis ran a hand over his face, relaxing himself.

"So, what would you like me to read?"

"Greek mythology!" cried Myles. Beckett clapped in agreement.

"Oh, alright then," said Artemis, reaching for a Greek Mythology collection from the shelf behind him "Which story?"

"Artemis and Apollo!" cried Beckett flailing his arms "Because big brother Arty is there and he has a sister named Apollo!"

"You ninny!" said Myles "Apollo is the boy and Artemis is the girl!"

"Myles, don't call your brother a ninny," scolded Artemis.

"Wait," said Beckett in confusion "If Artemis is a girl, then why is big brother Arty a boy?"

"Maybe big brother Artemis is a girl in disguise," said Myles sniggering. Beckett snorted with laughter.

Artemis's temple throbbed in irritation. There was never a day where he'd never heard that joke before. He was fully aware that Artemis is the name of a Greek goddess, but he didn't enjoy the fact that he was constantly made fun of for it.

"Let's choose another story," he said, attempting to change the topic. Fortunately, his brothers complied.

"The story of Perseus!" said Myles "I like that story the best."

"Alright then, Perseus it is," said Artemis, flipping to the page where the story was located. He began to read.

"Long, long ago, on the island of Greece, a baby was born to a woman named Danae. His name was Perseus and he was said to be the son of Zeus, king of the gods. Because of a prophecy that said he would be killed by his grandson, his grandfather Acrisius locked Perseus and his mother up in a chest and cast them out to sea. For many days they drifted until they reached the shore of Seriphus. There Perseus grew into a man and the king slowly began to fall in love with his mother. One day, the king, thinking that Perseus would interfere with his plans of marrying Danae, sent Perseus to retrieve Medusa's head."

"Guided by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, he made his way to the Fates. Upon reaching them, he took the eyeball they shared and said that he won't give it back until they told him how to reach the nymphs of the north. They gave him directions and some gifts that would help him on his quest: winged sandals, a wallet that could fit anything in it and an invisibility cap. Hermes gave him an unbreakable sword and the goddess Athena gave him a shield. Perseus reached Medusa's lair and killed her by looking at her reflection in the shield, so he wouldn't turn into stone. He put Medusa's severed head into the wallet and flew back home."

"As he was passing Ethiopia, he rescued the princess Andromeda from being sacrificed to a sea monster and returned back home to Greece, where he made her his wife."

Artemis closed the book and looked at his siblings. They had already fallen asleep on the carpet. As much as Artemis felt annoyed that his siblings slept throughout the entire story, he couldn't help but smile at their peaceful sleeping figures. _They're almost…tolerable. _

~~/~~

Artemis spent 3 hours in his bathroom. He managed to find the steps to removing the gel hidden under Myles's blanket as he was putting him to sleep. Those 3 hours were spent dousing his hair for an hour in hot water, then cold water for another hour and hot water again for the third hour.

As soon as he was done, Artemis ran his fingers through his hair. He smiled with relief. _Soft again. _

Wiping his hair, he stepped out of the bathroom and sat on the bed. Butler knocked lightly on the door. _He must be done tucking the twins in._

"Come in," said Artemis. Butler came in and sat on the armchair.

"Of all the antics Myles has pulled off, this one has to be the worst," said Artemis, shaking his head.

"Well, you can't blame him," said Butler "He's only 2."

Artemis sighed. "Yes I know…but still." He draped the towel over his shoulder. "He should know his limits."

Butler chuckled. "Give him time to grow up. Then, he'll know when to stop bugging you." Artemis rolled his eyes. There was a brief silence, then Butler spoke.

"Artemis, I'm curious. Do you believe in all those Greek gods and goddesses and demigods and such?"

Artemis chuckled. "Of course I don't. There's a reason why it's called Greek Mythology in the first place."

Butler nodded. 'Ah yes. Of course."

"Still," said Artemis "It would be rather interesting to be a son of a god or goddess and to do all those heroic deeds like the demigods do in the stories." He smiled to himself, trying to imagine himself battling sea monsters and creatures from the underworld and saving countless damsels in distress. _Artemis the demigod. _

Artemis snapped out of his reverie. "In any case, those thoughts are only meant to be in stories and can never happen in real life."

"Of course Artemis," agreed Butler "It wouldn't be mythology if it happened in reality."

"Exactly. Well, good night Butler."

"Good night, Artemis."

Butler turned off the lights and shut the door. Artemis climbed into bed and pulled the sheets over him. He closed his eyes and dreamt of sailing to far away lands and slaying beasts and being known as Artemis the demigod.


	2. The Wild Goose Chase Literally

**Heyyyyy guyssss. Guess who? It's ME! Yessir, I am back. And you know what else? ITS SUMMER! So be prepared for lots of updates by yours truly (well, hopefully a lot). Finally, a new chapter for this story! Enjoy. **

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**The Wild Goose Chase (Literally)**

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**Museum of Natural History, New York, 5:30 pm**

It was an extremely busy day at the Museum of Natural History. The building was jam-packed with hundreds of tourists and students from different schools, who, unknowingly, were having the same field trip at the same time. Museum attendants and security were going ballistic over the numerous amounts of people coming in and out of the museum, scholars surveying and appreciating the artifacts and children poking at the historical pieces.

This has been Artemis Fowl's 30th trip to this particular museum and, as expected, nothing has changed. The Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton still stood at the same position, Teddy Roosevelt's statue stood proudly in its own little corner, the animal section still contained the same animals.

The only thing that did change, however, was the addition of the new Greek Mythology section. The very reason Artemis was here in the first place.

For the past few days, Butler noticed that the young master was starting to have…a strong interest in Greek mythology. Interest wasn't even the right word for it. _Obsession…that's better._

Ever since he read the twins the story of Perseus, the obsession never died down. Everyday, he'd be researching on almost every Greek mythology story that existed, memorizing the entire Greek God family tree and tracing every exisisting thing to its mythological origin. Once, Butler even caught Artemis trying to fight "monsters" in his sleep, which was, of course, denied by Artemis himself.

It took them a few minutes before they found the section itself. It was hidden deep, deep inside the museum, since the only space available for the exhibit was at the very back. Artemis was getting impatient. So many times had they taken wrong turns and dead ends. And for some strange reason, they always seemed to end up in the Civil War exhibit.

"Artemis, why don't we check the map?" asked Butler for the enth time. Naturally, Artemis's stubbornness got in the way.

"The security guard said it was at the back," said Artemis "We're already at the back. It must be close by."

They walked around some more and, after a few more minutes, they ended up once again in the Civil War exhibit. Artemis wasn't one to succumb to frustration, but, in his anxiety to get to the exhibit, he couldn't resist.

Artemis stamped his foot. "This is ridiculous! Where is it?"

Butler sighed. "I think it's time—"

"Fine! Fine!" said Artemis exasperatedly "Let's check the map. Unfortunately, we don't have one so—" He looked behind and saw Butler waving a pocket map of museum in the air. "Oh. Well then, see where the exhibit is."

Butler opened the map and studied it. "Hm…we're in the Civil War section. The map says that the Greek Mythology is right through…that doorway." He pointed to a wide open doorway in front of them. Artemis mentally slapped himself.

"D'arvit," he swore under his breath and walked through the doorway. Butler shook his head. This always happens when Artemis gets over-excited about something.

The exhibit was incredible. The room that held it was massive, and every corner was covered in Greek mythological artifacts and relics. Paintings and statues of Greek gods and goddesses lined the walls, intricately designed pots and vases stood on marble pedestals, Greek armory and clothing were kept in glass cases, not looking at all like they existed thousands of years ago.

Being the refined gentleman that he is, it took all of his strength to not gawk at the sight like an idiot. Still, it was an amazing thing to behold. Artemis approached a glass case containing more or less a complete set of Greek armor and touched it deftly.

"I wonder how the Greeks were able to fight in this," he muttered to himself "These things must have weighed a ton…"

"Artemis," called Butler from the other side of the room "What are these things?'

Artemis stood by his bodyguards side and looked up at the cluster of statues before him. A group of very large, very vicious looking birds hung in mid-air, seemingly in attack mode as they faced the statue of a man holding an arrow, prepared to shoot.

"Stymphalian birds," replied Artemis "Man-eaters. Their beaks were bronze and their wings were made of metal. Sacred to the god Ares. In the story of Hercules, for the 6th challenge, Hercules was able to defeat them by using the rattle that Athena gave to him."

"Ah….so, basically, they're deadly, robotic birds."

"Yes…and no. They aren't robots."

Butler shrugged, not very interested. He checked his watch. "We have to go, Artemis. It's almost closing time."

Artemis sighed. He regretted coming here so late, and taking so much time finding the place. "Alright."

They turned around and exited the room. They didn't see that, behind them, the birds were slowly turning their heads, watching them leave with beady eyes. They didn't hear the sound of stone breaking as they slowly moved their wings and shook themselves free.

From the balcony outside, Artemis could see that the museum was nearly empty, which was a relief after nearly bordering claustrophobia from the sardine-packed sea of people. Suddenly, a loud shriek resonated around the entire second floor. Artemis's hair stood on the back of his neck.

"What was that?' he asked Buter softly.

"It sounded like…a huge bird," he whispered in reply.

The furious beating of wings reached their ears. Artemis and Butler turned around and saw that something was flying towards them. A group of somethings. Great big birds, with bronze beaks and metallic wings.

Stymphalian birds.

Artemis ducked just as one swooped over his head. "RUN!"

They dashed out of the Civil War exhibit and into the corridor. The birds were still close behind. Butler ran as fast as he could. Two things were running in his mind. _They're _real? and _No way in hell am I going to be eaten by those things. _

"Butler!" cried Artemis far behind him. Butler looked back and saw that Artemis was five feet away, the birds very close on his tail. Butler backed up and pulled Artemis away just as the nearest birds tried to snap at his neck.

"I should've taken those track lessons," said Artemis, panting as he ran. The force of Butler's pull was making trip on his own feet.

"Yeah, you should've. It would've saved your life, especially in times like these."

They dashed down the stairs and into the lobby. The birds dived after them. Butler grabbed a phone book from the Help desk and tossed it into the cluster of birds, knocking out most of them. At least it bought them enough time.

They ran down the great steps and into the New York pavement. They ran past startled civilians and knocked over stands. The birds avoided the obstacles with ease. Finally they reached a dead end. They couldn't find any other road to escape to. They looked behind them. The birds had increased in number; their friends had recovered.

"Great," muttered Butler 'What do we do now?"

Just then a car pulled up on the sidewalk, just as the birds were almost swarming over them. A boy of around 16 and a girl the same age jumped out of the car. The girl pulled out a bronze knife from its small sheath around her waist and the boy uncapped a pen he pulled out of his pocked, which elongated into a bronze sword.

Artemis gaped. _Who were these people? _

The birds shrieked again and diver towards Artemis and Butler. The boy and girl sprung into action. They slashed in different directions, slicing the birds and reducing them to gold dust.

Now, knowing Artemis, one would assume that he would calmly asses the situation and try to create some logic about it. However, this wasn't the case at the moment. Artemis was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. Nothing was making sense. _What is happening? _

The boy then cried out "Grover! Get him!" Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of brown come out of the car and felt like he was being dragged into the vehicle. He felt Butler's hand pull him away.

"Get your hands off of him!" growled Butler menacingly. Suddenly, the person pulling Artemis loosened his grip.

The girl saw what Butler was doing and ran towards him. Standing behind the hulking man, she pulled out a tazer. "I'm sorry" she muttered before shocking him. Butler jittered and crumpled to the ground.

Artemis's jaw fell open. Before he had time to process what just happened, he was pulled into the car. Someone strapped a seatbelt rightly across him. The boy and girl slid into the front of the car, panting from their assault.

"Let's move!" said the boy and they drove off. Artemis turned in his seat and saw Butlers unconscious body on the sidewalk getting smaller and smaller as they drove away.

"Who are you people?" yelled Artemis, struggling against the seatbelt "What did you do to Butler? Why are you kidnapping me? What is going on?"

The girl looked behind at Artemis and her eyes brightened. "Oh my gods. It _is _Artemis Fowl! I don't believe it!"

As much as Artemis was flattered by her being happily surprised at his presence, now was not the best time to return the feelings. He was still feeling stressed, harassed and utterly confused.

"You haven't answered my question! Who are you?"

"I'm Percy Jackson," replied the boy driving in front "This is Annabeth Chase" He nodded to the girl beside him. "The dude sitting beside you now is Grover Underwood."

Artemis looked at Grover, who waved. He seemed normal, until Artemis saw the bottom half. Artemis's eyes widened. Hairy animal-like legs with hooves attached at the end.

"You're half mule!"

Grover looked offended. "I'm half _goat_, for your information. I'm a satyr. Jeez, can't anyone get it right?"

Percy looked at the rear-view mirror. A swarm of Stymphalian birds was heading at top speed towards their car. "We've got company."

Artemis looked behind him. "Didn't you kill them already?"

"Apparently, there were more where they came form."

Percy stepped on the gas and they bolted down the highway. They were nearing the bridge crossing the East River. The birds were still on their tail.

"We've never going to lose them," said Annabeth "And we can't fight on the road. There's too many cars."

Percy glanced out of his window. "Maybe we can."

Suddenly, he swerved off the road and into an incomplete section of the bridge. The passengers suddenly froze in their seats.

"Um…Percy?" said Grover nervously. Percy didn't hear him. He kept flooring it. The end of the bridge grew rapidly closer.

"Percy, I don't think this is a good idea," said Annabeth loudly, seeing the edge of the bridge get nearer.

"Don't worry guys," said Percy "Just hold on!"

Artemis swallowed and closed his eyes. _Goodbye cruel world, _he thought before they finally plunged into the water.

~~/~~

Somehow, the car didn't break from the impact when in smashed into the water. Water wasn't coming through the doors or windows as well. Despite the fact that they were safe, Artemis still felt rattled.

Finally, the car floated into solid ground. They somehow hit an island that suddenly appeared a little away from Long Island. Artemis didn't care. He needed to get out of the car _now. _

The passengers exited the vehicle. Artemis was the last to leave. He looked awful. His hair was a complete mess, his eye twitched from the stress, his knees wobbled as he walked and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"You okay?" asked Percy.

It took a while before Artemis managed to speak. "Where are we?" he asked weakly.

"Camp Half-blood."

"And what exactly is Camp Half-blood?"

"A training camp for demi-gods."

"Oh," said Artemis, before collapsing into a heap on the ground. Percy, Annabeth and Grover clustered around him.

"Poor guy's had a stressful day," said Annabeth sympathetically "I still can't believe we managed to find _the _Artemis Fowl!"

"Yeah well, don't get your hopes up," said Percy "He might not be as great as people think he is." Together, he and Grover hoisted the unconscious boy genius and brought him back to camp.


	3. Camp Halfblood

**So, I have decided to stop writing author's notes at the beginning because they are proving to be rather unnecessary. Here's the newest chapter! Enjoy!**

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**Camp Half-Blood**

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After what seemed like forever, Artemis finally opened his eyes. He blinked groggily, trying to register his surroundings. He was lying down. His hands touched something soft. Linen sheets. He was on a bed.

He looked around. He seemed to be in some makeshift recovery ward. Dozens of beds like the one he was on were lined up in two neat rows, each with an injured or recovering patient on them. The room was made entirely out of wood.

_Where am I? _

"Oh look, the boy genius is awake," said a voice beside his bed. He looked and saw the dark haired youth from the day before, along with his blonde-haired friend and that…goat thing. _Satyr. _

Artemis frowned, striving for something intelligent to say, but only achieving "Unhhhhh."

"Are you alright?" asked the blonde-haired girl. What was her name again? _Annabeth. _His head began to throb.

"Not exactly…" said Artemis, rubbing his temples. The dark-haired boy, Percy, he remembered, reached over to the bedside table and handed him a plate of what looked like lemon squares.

Artemis stared at it. "No thank you…I don't eat sweets."

"These aren't sweets," said Percy "You'll get better if you eat some."

"He should probably take this too," said the satyr Grover (he remembered again), handing Percy a glass of what looked like lemon iced tea.

"Right. Thanks." Percy placed the tall glass on the bedside table.

Artemis's common sense was slowly coming back to him. "I have never heard of any one getting better from sweets. Usually, the common effect would be an upset stomach or diabetes even. However, it has been proven that chocolate helps in relieving nausea—"

His long explanation was cut short by Percy stuffing a square into his mouth. Artemis began to protest, but the sudden burst of flavor on his tongue kept him quiet. It tasted salty and sweet. Like…caramel flavored popcorn.

"Percy!" exclaimed Annabeth, appalled.

"What, he had to eat it some time," said Percy shrugging "Besides, he wouldn't shut up."

Artemis felt his strength come back to him. He reached for the glass and sipped at the drink, waiting for the ice coldness to slip down his throat. Surprisingly, there was nothing cold about the drink at all, despite the ice cubes inside. It tasted like…freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

"Amazing," said Artemis astonished "What are these things?"

"Ambrosia and Nectar," said Annabeth, sitting closer to him "Medicine of the Greek Gods." She took his hand and shook it. "It's such an honor meeting you, Artemis. I've heard tons of stories about you. Like how you devised a plan to help stop the melting of the polar ice caps?"

Artemis smiled faintly. That seemed so long ago. Back when he was with Foaly, Mulch, Holly and Butler…

_Butler._

"Wasn't his father a criminal mastermind?" asked Percy skeptically.

"Well, I haven't heard any recent crimes regarding him," said Annabeth "So I guess he isn't anymore."

Artemis suddenly grabbed a fistful of Percy's shirt. "Where is Butler?"

"Who?"

Artemis pulled him closer sharply, which took more energy that he thought it would. "Where. Is. My. Bodyguard?"

Percy, being the stronger of the two, easily pried Artemis's fingers off his shirt. He smoothed out the wrinkles. "We had to leave him."

"_Why?_"

"Because he isn't allowed to come."

Just then, someone entered the ward. The first thing that registered into Artemis's brain was the sound of hooves clopping on the wooden floor. _A horse? _Artemis slowly looked up and saw that it was much more than a horse.

It was a centaur.

Of course, Artemis had already had a close encounter with a centaur before. But Foaly was a misfit compared to this one. This centaur radiated majesty. It held itself up with a leaderly air, despite his bright orange t-shirt. For once, Artemis had no idea what to do.

"Chiron," Percy and Annabeth breathed at the same time.

Chiron smiled warmly. "Welcome back Percy, Annabeth, Grover." He turned to Artemis. "Is this the young master Fowl?"

"Yeah," said Percy "We found him a few blocks away from the Museum of Natural History. A bunch of Stymphalian birds were chasing him."

Chiron neared Artemis and shook his hand gently. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Artemis."

Artemis froze. How did this centaur know who he was? Sure his face was all over the news and the web and Time magazine. But a mythical creature knowing who he was?

"Chiron?" said Artemis. Something about that name sounded so familiar to him. Then he remembered.

"You're the one who trained Hercules!"

Chiron smiled again. "Yes I was."

Artemis wanted to point out that he should've been gone thousands of years ago, but there other important questions still waiting be answered. He decided to ask them first. "Where am I?"

Chiron's eyes met with Percy's and Annabeth's, and they nodded back at him. He turned back to Artemis. "Let's talk in the Big House."

~~/~~

For one thing, the "Big House" isn't as big as its name claims it to be. Sure it was a larger than normal farm house, but it wasn't massive like his own. They found a place inside and sat around a small coffee table.

"To answer your question, Artemis,' said Chiron, managing to sit better on a couch than Foaly did "You are in Camp Half-Blood. A place where we train half-bloods to defend themselves against monsters that inhabit the world."

"Half-bloods?" asked Artemis.

"Demigods. Children of Greek Gods and mortals. Percy and Annabeth here are examples." He gestured at the two.

"My father is Poseidon," explained Percy.

"My mother is Athena," said Annabeth.

Artemis's eyes narrowed. "That shouldn't be possible. Demigods lasted hundreds of years ago. There shouldn't be anymore."

"The Greek gods are immortal, Artemis," explained Chiron "And since they are immortal, the race of demigods is not ceasing in number."

_True. _"So why am I here?"

Chiron took a deep breath. "It is because, we believe that you are a demigod."

There was silence in the room. Artemis was known for processing things in the blink of an eye. But this information took a while to digest. And once it did, Artemis narrowed his eyes to slits. He didn't appreciate jokes.

"You should know that I despise jokes," he said coldly "Especially when they concern me."

"Ah, you will be pleased then," said Chiron "Because it's not a joke."

"You have no proof," Artemis pointed out.

"Grover here is proof," said Percy, gesturing to Grover "Satyrs can sense a demigod from miles away. That's how we found you."

"How do you know he is reliable?"

"Because that's how he found me."

"And I am too reliable," said Grover, highly offended "I was appointed Lord of The Wild by the Council of Cloven Elders!"

"This is _ridiculous_," snapped Artemis, nearly at his wits end "As much as I am interested in Greek Mythology and may have wished that it were real, there is absolutely no possibility that I, Artemis Fowl the Second, am a demigod. My father is Artemis Fowl Senior. My mother is Angeline Fowl. Both are mortals. I do not see any connection of my bloodline to a Greek God!"

Everyone in the room stared at him. Artemis didn't care at all. There was just no way, _no conceivable way, _that he was a demigod. The idea was ludicrous. Ridiculous.

After a moment's silence, Chiron spoke. "Well then. It must mean that one of your parents is not really yours."

Artemis was taken aback. _One of my parents…? _For a while, he was speechless. But his composure came back, and so did his scowl. "Impossible," he hissed, keeping the astonishment out of his voice.

"Then explain your genius," said Chiron a little more firmly "Explain the fact that you are one of the greatest child prodigies in the twenty first century. If I am not mistaken, you are claimed to be within the ranks, or even greater than Einstein, Rutherford, Beethoven, Newton, Bach and all the other great geniuses themselves. And this has been said about you ever since you were eight years old."

Artemis wanted to retort that he got it from his father, but then realized that what Chiron said was true. His father constantly told him that he was brighter and more intelligent than he was when he was a young boy. That was why his father always had him participate in his negotiations, and even allowed him to make his own.

There really was no explanation for his genius.

Suddenly, it all started to sink in. No matter how ludicrous and impossible the idea, there is a possibility that maybe he _was _one. That's why he seemed different from ordinary people. Because he _was _different. He _was _extraordinary.

The gravity of this knowledge rendered him speechless. He began to wonder _Who is my Greek parent? Who among my parents wasn't really mine? _He had a hunch, but he wasn't sure.

"That's why when you ate the Ambrosia square, you didn't burn," explained Annabeth "Usually when mortals consume Greek food, they can burst into flames."

"And that's why we had to leave your bodyguard behind," explained Percy "Because mortals like him aren't allowed in the camp."

"Do you understand now, Artemis?" asked Chiron gently.

Oh how the world could see him now. The great Artemis Fowl II, dumbfounded in the face of his own real origin. He'd never been this shocked, surprised, amazed, astonished, dumbfounded and confused before. He'd never had this much emotion crashing inside him, not even since his mother was on the verge of death. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't.

"I am demigod," whispered Artemis, his eyes wide.

"Poor kid's in shock," said Grover, shaking his head.

"Are you alright Artemis?" asked Annabeth. Artemis looked up at her gray eyes and saw that they were full of concern. He looked at the others and saw that their eyes were full of concern as well. Well, maybe not Percy's. His were normal.

Artemis cleared his throat and straightened his shirt. "I'm fine. Thank you. Just digested too much information in one sitting. Not that it's a problem." Obvious lie.

"Very well then," said Chiron, getting up from the couch. "Percy, Annabeth. I think it is time to bring Artemis to his cabin."

~~/~~

"So, which cabin will I be staying in?" asked Artemis, surveying the different cabins in the area. It was an amazing sight. Each cabin was based on the twelve Olympians and other Greek gods as well. One cabin looked very much like a warehouse, since it was built entirely of metal and had smoke coming out of the chimney. Another cabin was covered with plants and flowers, which grew with a touch of its residents fingers. Loud noise exploded within another cabin, making it sound like a wrestling ring. A flag with a boar's head and a speak embroidered in it hung above the door. Artemis wagered that the three cabins were based on Hephaestus, Demeter and Ares respectively.

"The Hermes cabin," replied Percy simply.

"But…I don't even know if I'm Hermes's son."

"It doesn't matter. Unclaimed demigods go here, since Hermes is the god of travelers."

"And thieves…" muttered Artemis.

Percy patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I already made all the gods swear that they claim all their children. So, just wait. In the meantime, you get to stay here."

Percy opened the worn down cabins door and Artemis had to step back. It was a claustrophobic's nightmare. The cabin was jam-packed with campers. Sleeping bags were strewn all over the floor, so much so that the floor itself wasn't visible. Everyone looked like sardines inside.

Artemis swallowed. "Um…did I mention I was highly claustrophobic?"

"You'll be fine," said Percy, propelling him inside. "Hi guys!"

A sea of heads looked up at him. "Hi Percy!" they answered in unison. Artemis's stomach tightened. The idea of sleeping with this many kids…

"This is Artemis," continued Percy "He's a new camper." Even before he got to finish his introduction, the multitude groaned.

"Oh not again," grumbled one.

"I am _not _giving up my space again," said another defiantly.

"Aw, come on guys," said Percy "Can't you make room for one more? I mean, Artemis here doesn't look THAT big." Artemis didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult.

The entire Hermes cabin continued to grumble. Some complied, trying to find space for Artemis. Others didn't and sat stubbornly on their sleeping bags.

"Percy," said a voice behind them. They turned around. It was Annabeth.

"Hey Annabeth," said Percy "You wanna help me out here? The Hermes cabin won't make room for Arty here."

Artemis scowled at him. No one called him Arty but his mom and Holly.

Annabeth peered inside. "Um…Percy. The room is too tight. I don't think there's any space for Artemis in there."

'Yes and I won't be very accustomed to the services in there," added Artemis "Because, you know, I'm not used to that sort of environment."

"Well good," said Percy "You'll learn how to live with it then."

"But, you don't understand," protested Artemis, looking back at the crowded cabin and shuddering "I am Artemis Fowl! Son of Artemis Fowl senior. Boy genius. Criminal Mastermind. Heir to a great fortune."

"And I am Percy Jackson," Percy shot back, getting a bit annoyed "New Yorker. Son of Poseidon. Camp half-blood camper. Saved the world a few months ago. I _stayed _in that cabin my first week here, for your information. I survived."

"Percy, honestly," said Annabeth "I don't think there is any room in that cabin for him."

Percy looked surprised. "Look, Annabeth, just because this guy is your idol doesn't mean you get to side with him—"

Annabeth grabbed his face and made him look into the cabin. "Look at it Percy. I doubt even _you _will fit."

Percy sighed heavily. She had a point. "Fine. Where do you propose he sleep then?"

Annabeth's face brightened. "With you!"

"What." Percy and Artemis said in the same dead manner.

"Oh come on Percy!" said Annabeth "You're completely alone in your cabin!"

"And I enjoy being alone there, thank you very much." Percy eyed Artemis.

"Would it kill you to have some company? I can ask Chiron to let him stay there."

"He might mess up my stuff!" protested Percy.

"Oh yes," said Artemis sarcastically "Because my dressing up in a clean suit and tie clearly defines me as a sloppy person."

Percy scowled at him and turned back to Annabeth. "But—"

Then, Annabeth unleashed her greatest weapon. She made great big Bambi eyes at him. She batted her eyes, making them seem silver in the sunlight. She made her lower lip droop even more, deepening the pout.

Suddenly, Percy's knees weakened. Stupid adorable Annabeth. Artemis looked Percy and saw pink splotches appear on his cheeks.

"Alright fine!" said Percy finally giving in. "Artemis, come with me."

Artemis followed closely behind, turning around to mouth "Thank you." to Annabeth. She grinned back at him.

The Poseidon cabin was beautiful. The walls were covered with coral and sea stone. Bits of seashell stuck out, glinting in the early afternoon sun. Inside smelled of seawater. It felt like Artemis was in the middle of the ocean again, only more relaxed and calm.

Then, the relaxation was immediately gone once he saw the big hulking figure before him.

"Tyson!" cried Percy. The figure turned around and Artemis nearly fell over. It was huge and filthy looking. Every inch of it was covered in soot, like it worked in a blacksmith. What really stunned Artemis was the single huge eye in the center of its forehead.

A Cyclops.

"Percy!" bellowed the Cyclops. He lumbered over to him and squeezed him in a bear hug. Artemis didn't know what to do. He began to search for something that might knock the creature out cold when he realized that Percy was laughing.

"Alright, alright, put me down big guy," said Percy, patting the cyclops's shoulders "Put me down! You're killing me!"

The Cyclops put him down and ruffled Percy's hair, messing it up entirely. "I missed you, brother!"

"Brother?" blurted Artemis incredulously. Percy and the Cyclops looked at him. He was sprawled against the wall, breathing heavily and distancing himself as far away from the Cyclops as possible.

"Oh right," said Percy, remembering that he was still there "Tyson, this is Artemis Fowl. New camper. Artemis, this is Tyson, my Cyclops brother."

Tyson extended his huge hand and, after glancing nervously from the hand to Percy's face, Artemis decided to be polite and take it. Tyson shook Artemis's hand, making his entire body shake vigorously.

"Hi Arty-mees!" said Tyson happily "I like making new friends!" He finally let go of Artemis.

Artemis trembled on the spot, still shaken. Sure he'd seen fairies and elves and dwarfs and goblins and demons and trolls and pixies and centaurs. But a Cyclops was a whole different thing entirely.

Oh well. If he was a demigod, he'd have to live with it sooner or later.

"Pleasure to meet you Tyson," he managed, after regaining his composure.

"Is he our brother too?" Tyson asked Percy.

"I don't know," said Percy "He hasn't been claimed yet." Percy glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh gods! I'm going to miss my sparring lesson!" He was about to bolt out the door when he remembered Artemis. "You coming with?"

"I think I'll rest here for a moment," said Artemis, shakily sitting down on one of the beds.

Percy shrugged. "Alright then. See ya later!" He dashed out the door.

"Bye Arty-mees!" said Tyson before following his brother.

Artemis lay down on the bed and loosened his collar. Of all the stressful days he'd ever experience, this had to be the worst. Waking up in a demigod camp, meeting actual demigods, finding out that he actually was one. It was all so surreal.

Then again, he'd been through surreal events more times than he can count. But this was different. This time, it didn't concern the Fairy Folk, going back in time, his mother or the whole world even.

This time it concerned him, and only him.

Despite all of this, Artemis couldn't help but smile to himself. So many times he'd thought and wondered about what it would be like to be like Hercules or Perseus. What it would be like to be the son of a god or a goddess.

Now he was one. And that thought amazed him more than anything else in the entire universe.

_I am a demigod. _


	4. The Sign

**HAI. You guys miss me? : It is I. I am back to satisfy you all! And I know I said I won't put these anymore, but I've been out long so…I owe you guys explanations right? Ahihihihi. Yeah well, mostly its cuz I'm busy or I don't have time. So NOW I HAVE TIME. YIPPEE!**

**I've been wanting to address the OOC issue since it first started building up, but I ran out of time. I understand that Artemis is way out of context, but I decided to show a kind of humorous side to him. He can't always be super serious, now can he? (Well he kinda can but, you get the point).**

**So there. Enjoy! **

**~~/~~**

**The Sign**

**~~/~~**

Artemis only meant to close his eyes momentarily. He needed a 20-minute period of meditation to let everything sink in. His mind has been going haywire ever since yesterday and it was begging to be put to rest.

But he must've been more worn out than he thought, because he had accidentally fallen asleep for 2 hours. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting in the orange glare of the setting sun. He checked his watch. It was already 5 in the afternoon.

He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. Something beside him caught his attention. He looked and saw a pile of clothes stacked neatly at the foot of his bed. A pair of jeans, clean socks, sneakers and a bright orange shirt that read "Camp Half-blood".

Artemis picked up the shirt and examined it. He looked at it with disgust. _Atrocious, _he thought with contempt and tossed the shirt away.

He stepped out into the cool twilight air. It was peaceful, save for the clanging of metal and the loud chatter of campers. He straightened his jacket and tie and casually walked around, taking in his new home.

The cabin pavilion was beautiful in the twilight. The setting sun was reflected in the gold and silver surfaces of the cabins and cast great shadows into the massive garden. The children of Demeter were planting golden plants that fed off the evening glow of the sun all around their cabin. The Hephaestus cabin's chimney continued to expel multicolored smoke. Some of the Aphrodite girls were fixing each other's impossibly gorgeous hair while gushing over men in a Cosmopolitan magazine.

Artemis smiled to himself. _It's not bad at all. I wish Holly could see this… _

He made his way to the sparring field and saw Percy standing, naturally, at the center, kicking a rookie's butt. The poor guy never had a chance before his sword was knocked into the air and stuck to the ground a few feet away.

"It's alright Charlie!" said Percy encouragingly "You'll get better!" He turned and saw Artemis. "Look who's out of the cave."

Artemis gestured at Charlie, who was struggling to pull his sword out of the dirt. "You didn't even let him strike."

"Well, that's the thing. In order to help other get better, you have to give them the hard way sometimes."

"My, my. A little cocky, are we?" Artemis looked Percy straight in the eye. "I want to try."

Percy snorted, stifling his laughter last minute. Artemis eyebrow came up in annoyance. "You doubt my abilities?"

Percy gathered himself. "No, no…" A part of him desperately wanted to drop to the ground and die laughing. But he knew what Artemis was capable of doing if he did.

"Well then?"

"Fine. But you're going to have to change." Percy gestured at Artemis's dirty dress suit.

"Excuse me?" said Artemis, pulling his coat tighter to his person.

"There is no way you're going to spar in that outfit."

"I'm perfectly comfortable in this. And I am not going to wear that hideous orange shirt, if that's what you're implying."

Percy sighed and put an arm around Artemis. "Take a look at that sign." He pointed at a gigantic wooden sign, nailed on one of the taller trees in the Camp. "Rule #1: Make sure you are properly dressed before you can enter the sparring field."

Artemis begged to differ, but rules were rules. And while he was at this place, he was just like everyone else, required to follow rules. He gave Percy a sour look.

"Besides," reasoned Percy "I don't wanna mess up your schmancy suit." He tugged gently at the shoulder of Artemis's coat. Artemis snatched the fabric away from his touch.

"Fine," he said sourly and trudged back into the Poseidon cabin.

A few minutes later, he came out, clad in the shirt, pants and sneakers and looking more bitter than ever. He looked ridiculously out of place. Percy bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"I look ridiculous," said Artemis bitterly.

"You look _fine_," assured Percy, patting Artemis's shoulder "In fact, you look almost normal!"

"Yes because that would be my one true wish in the entire universe," said Artemis sarcastically.

"Next step," said Percy, completely ignoring Artemis "We need to get you a sword." He took Artemis's arm and hauled him all the way to the blacksmith shed.

It was horrible inside. The room was sweltering hot. The gigantic smolder pot in the center of the room contributed to most of the heat inside. The sound of hammers pounding on metal was absolutely deafening and the sight of a dozen sweaty Hephaestus campers was sickening.

"Hey Dosseldorf!" called Percy into the crowd. A tall, muscular blonde guy looked up and nodded at Percy.

"Gud to see you, Percy," he greeted in his heavy German accent.

"Listen." Percy pulled Artemis to stand beside him. "My friend here needs a sword for sparring practice. Could you spare us one?"

"Sure. De swords ar out back."

He led them to the back room, where hundreds of weapons and artillery were stored. It was an amazing sight. Thousands of magnificently crafted swords of bronze and silver lined the walls of the shed. Golden plated shields were stacked neatly in a corner. Spears and catapults filled the area as well.

"Amazing, isn't it?" whispered Percy. Artemis shook his head in disbelief.

"I didn't think a couple of teenagers would be capable of creating these," he breathed "Only master blacksmiths could make works as intricate as these."

"Well, the Hephaestus kids take after their father, who's the MASTER of all masters."

"So," said Dosseldorf "Which sword do you choose?"

Percy took one off its hook. "Try this." He tossed it to Artemis, who fumbled with it and let it fall to the ground with a loud clang. He tried to pick it up, but he didn't even get it off a inch from the ground.

"Nope," said Percy decisively. He picked up and another one. "Try this one." He tossed again to Artemis, who caught it but fell to the ground due to its heaviness.

"Seriously? That one looked pretty good," said Percy. He trailed his fingers over the swords, keeping an eye out for the good-looking ones.

Artemis got up and brushed dirt off his shirt. Then, something glinting in the corner caught his eye. He looked and saw it was a golden sword, standing isolated by itself. The setting sun reflected off its shiny surface.

"What is this one?" asked Artemis, approaching it.

"It'z ar newest model," said Dosseldorf proudly "Ve vorked on zis one for more zan a week. Ve call it "De Apple of Discord"."

Percy looked at him strangely. "The Apple of Discord? Really? You couldn't have thought of a tougher name?"

Dosseldorf frowned. "De wurd discord sounds pretty tuff."

Artemis picked it up slowly. Surprisingly, it wasn't as heavy as the other two swords. In fact, it weighed just right in his hand. He swung it around and it conformed to his movement. He smiled.

"I'll take this one."

Dosseldorf looked surprised. "You sure? It'z a very, very special model. I don't know if it should be used yet—"

"Don't worry Dosseldorf, my friend," assured Artemis "I'll take excellent care of this sword."

~~/~~

"You sure you're ready for this?" asked Percy. Artemis brought out his sword, momentarily blinded by its brightness.

"Absolutely," he said firmly, blinking to focus his eyes.

Percy brought out his pen and uncapped it, transforming it into his sword Riptide. "Alright then. Let's go."

Artemis swung at Percy, who easily blocked it. The sword flew out of Artemis's hand and landed a few feet away from them.

"Go easy on me!" snapped Artemis, picking up his sword.

"I am!" said Percy "You didn't tighten your grip."

Artemis rolled his shoulders back and held out his sword, tightening his grip. "Again."

He swung at Percy, who blocked it again. He swung again, who blocked it again. This went on for a few more minutes until Artemis wore himself out and was already bent over in exhaustion.

Percy poked him sharply on the shoulder with his sword. Artemis cried out in surprise.

"What was that for?" snapped Artemis, panting.

"Conserve your energy while fighting," advised Percy "You kept swinging at me. Of course you'd tire yourself out quickly. And try aiming at different areas. The enemy will get to you first if you keep attacking in the same area." He straightened Artemis up. "One more."

"Percy, you can't be—"

"One more. That's how we do it here."

Artemis glowered at him and picked up his sword. He wiped the sweat from his brow and readied himself. "One more then."

He struck and Percy blocked it. He did it a few more times and then, he suddenly swung lower. Percy managed to see the blow before it hit him and defended his side. Artemis immediately changed aim and managed to tap Percy in a spot a split second before he blocked it. Percy then went on the offense and, with one quick movement, disarmed Artemis.

"Good," said Percy, capping his sword "For a beginner. But you need a LOT more practice to get better."

"Obviously," said Artemis sheathing his sword "Practice makes perfect, doesn't it?"

~~/~~

"I don't understand how you campers can live with eating only half your dinner when you're starving," said Artemis as he watched Percy scrape half his dinner into the flames.

"You get used to it," replied Percy "And besides, the gods always come first."

_True_, agreed Artemis, scraping his own portion into the fire. He and Percy walked back to their lonesome table and ate their portion of dinner.

"Hey guys!" greeted Annabeth, suddenly appearing behind them. Grover stood beside her, gnawing on a tin can.

"Hey Annabeth," said Percy, his eyes lighting up. _He's definitely attracted to her, _confirmed Artemis in his mind.

"Good evening," he greeted her.

"So you guys ready for Capture the Flag?" she asked, sounding excited.

"You know it," said Percy, giving Grover a high five.

"Wait a minute," said Artemis "What is Capture the Flag?"

"What is Capture the Flag?" repeated Grover incredulously "It's only the best camp game ever played! How can you not know what it is?"

"Well forgive me. I haven't been in this camp long," said Artemis, his voice dripping with sarcasm "Obviously, I wouldn't know what the game is."

"It's a game we play to exercise our battle skills," explained Annabeth "Basically, there are two teams and the team who gets to their opponent's flag first wins."

Artemis stroked his chin. "Sounds fairly simple."

"Fairly simple?" repeated Percy. He scoffed. "Artemis, if you thought sparring with me was exhausting, I don't think you'd last one minute in Capture the Flag. You're going to go against real players here."

"Why not?" challenged Artemis "This would be a perfect way for me to build up my battle skills." He met their eyes. "I want to join."

"Absolutely no—" began Percy.

"I don't think its such a bad idea," interrupted Annabeth. Percy stared at her incredulously.

"Are you _kidding _me?" he said "He won't last ten seconds in the battle field. I am _trying _to save his life."

"The only thing you're _trying _to do here, Percy, is convincing the others that my abilities are unsatisfactory," said Artemis defiantly "I'm a demigod, aren't I? I should be able to do this."

"Yeah," said Grover "And you know, he won't learn unless he tries, right?"

Percy rubbed his forehead. "Alright fine. But I'm not saving his butt from Clarisse and her merry band of cannibals."

"What did you say, Jackson?" demanded Clarisse just as she passed by. Artemis has never truly seen a girl that huge before. She was a pound of red, walking muscle, with several others who looked just like her.

"I said, Clarisse and her merry band of warriors," said Percy sarcastically.

"You're making jokes now, Jackson," she said threateningly "But you won't be laughing when I kick your butt later in Capture the Flag." She snapped at her cronies and they marched off, knocking people down as they passed.

"I doubt it," muttered Percy. He faced Artemis. "Alright fine. But you're going to stay where I tell you to. If you move away from that spot, you're a dead man. And I mean that literally."

Artemis wasn't the type to feel scared so easily, but something in Percy's tone of voice told him that he shouldn't take this game so lightly. "Alright. Where do I stay then?"

"Right next to the flag."

~~/~~

Capture the Flag always made every night hectic. Campers rushed from cabin to cabin, gathering weapons and discussing battle plans. Those not involved stayed calmly in their cabins, not caring whether the teams were beating each other up to a pulp or not.

Tonight's teams were Cabins Athena, Hermes, Hephaestus and Poseidon v.s. Cabins Apollo, Ares, and Hades.

"Alright, here's the plan," said Percy as his team gathered around the conference table in the Athena cabin. "Travis, you take your team on the left side of the forest." He pointed to the leftmost part of the map. "Connor, you take your team to the right side." He shifted his finger to the rightmost part.

"Got it," the twins said in unison.

"Dosseldorf, set up the catapults along this line," instructed Percy, making a line in the center of their side of the forest. "Annabeth and I will take the rest of the Athena cabin to the front. Make sure to adjust the catapults so they won't accidentally hit us."

"Okay," said Dosseldorf nodding.

"So where do I go?" asked Artemis peering at the map.

"You're way over here," said Percy, pointing to where the flag is, all the way at the back of the map. Artemis gave him a look.

"Is that really how low you think of me?" he said sourly "I am very disappointed."

"Of course not," said Percy "In fact you have the most important job of all. You're in charge of defending the flag from the other team. We are relying on you to keep the flag safe from Clarisse and the opposing team members."

Artemis nodded, feeling the gravity of his position. On the other hand, he's faced more life threatening situations than this. This was probably much more bearable. "Alright. Understood."

"One more thing," said Percy to the rest of his team "Look out for Nico. He may be young, but he's a really good fighter. Make sure his team doesn't get past the catapult line or Artemis is dead."

Artemis rolled his eyes. _Thank you for the encouragement, Percy. _

"Is everything clear?"

"Yeah!" everyone said together.

"Then let's do this!" cried Percy, punching the air with his fist. Everyone cheered and left to prepare for battle.

"This is yours," said Percy, handing Artemis his battle armor. Artemis staggered from the weight.

"I don't suppose there is a lighter size," said Artemis.

"Nope," said Percy, securing the straps to his own armor "It's the same for everyone."

Artemis looked at the heavy piece of bronze and put it on. He felt his shoulder muscles sink as soon as the heavy metal met his shoulders. He secured it and tried to stand up straight. Soon, he found the floor getting closer and closer to his face before it smacked him right on the side of his head.

Percy looked at the fallen Artemis to Annabeth, who was sheathing her knife. 'Are you sure you want him in this thing?"

Annabeth gave him a look. "Just let him try."

Percy sighed and helped Artemis up. "You know, you can't be laying around while the battle is on going. You're going to make us lose."

"I know," said Artemis, rolling his shoulders "I just need to get used to this piece of armor."

The Capture the Flag participants took their positions on both sides of the forest. Dosseldorf and the rest of the Hephaestus campers camouflaged their handmade catapults into the plants. The rest of Percy's team hid in the shadows of the forest.

Chiron stepped to the middle of the battlefield. "House rules of Capture the Flag," he called out to the teams in a loud voice "There will be no maiming, stabbing or gravely injuring. Any sign of foul play will immediately be taken against the team. Any member who does not abide of these rules will be disqualified from the game. And now, BEGIN!" He blew his large horn and the battle began.

~~/~~

Artemis sat against the cluster of rocks Percy called the Fist of Zeus, which looked more like a cluster of animal droppings rather than the fist of the almighty Zeus himself.

He listened as the battle raged on. The demigod inside of him wished he was part of the front line so he would get a chance to fight. But the boy genius inside of him discouraged it. He would be down 5 minutes into the battle anyway.

So he sat there, conserving his energy, keeping his sword and shield close at bay, and one eye on the flag that sat atop the rocks.

His portion of the forest has been still, except for the occasional rustling of animals darting from tree to tree. There was no sign of any of the opposing team members anywhere.

_This is infuriating, _Artemis thought to himself, _Why did Artemis assign such a lowly position to me? Nothing is happening! I'm completely useless!_

He was about to let rage consume him, when the bushes in front of him rustled violently. He nearly thought it was another animal when two more bushes began to rustle. He grabbed his sword and shield and stood up slowly, ignoring the weight of the armor on his shoulders.

A twelve-year-old boy clad in a black leather jacket, a rock band shirt, ripped jeans appeared out of the bushes. His jet-black hair covered most of his olive-toned face. Two more just like him climbed out, followed by two burly boys who seemed to belong to the Ares cabin.

"Oh hey," said the boy "You're the new kid right? I'm Nico di Angelo of the Hades cabin." He held out his hand to shake.

Artemis narrowed his eyes at him. "I think we can save the formalities for later."

Nico chuckled. "I see Percy has taught you a few things while you were here."

"He didn't. This is my intuition talking."

"Well then. I believe you've forgotten the most important rule of all in the battlefield: Never let your guard down." He pointed to the Fist and Artemis saw that one of Nico's men was climbing towards the flag.

Artemis ran to get him, but was only pulled down by one of the Ares boys. The second one struck at him but Artemis was able to parry it. He kicked himself free and got to his feet. He ran for the one climbing the rocks and pulled him back down by the leg, which took all the strength he can muster.

One of the Hades boys swung hard at him and knocked his sword away. Now, he was surrounded by five opponents, with only his shield to service him.

"Checkmate, Artemis," said Nico slyly.

Artemis glanced at his shield and back to the group. He smirked. "I don't think so."

He swung his shield and smacked one of them hard in the face. He laughed as he watched him crumple to the ground. An Ares boy swung at him, but Artemis blocked the blow and smacked him headfirst with his shield.

He dashed towards his sword and grabbed it before one of the Hades boys came at him. Artemis kicked his feet from under him, holding out his shield and letting the guy land face first into it as he fell.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nico scampering quickly up the rocks. He ran, putting every ounce of energy into his run, whacking the last remaining guy on the back of his head.

"No you don't," he said pulling Nico down. Nico kicked himself free and continued up. Artemis had no choice but to follow.

Nico laughed in triumph as he reached the top. He reached for the flag, his victory literally close at hand. Suddenly, someone grabbed the flag from his reach. He looked up and saw Artemis, still trying to climb up while holding the flag.

Nico chuckled, seeing Artemis's struggle. "You seem to be having a hard time. Here, let me hold the flag for you."

Suddenly, the pole smacked him right on top of the head. He backed away for a moment, trying to regain his balance.

Artemis reached the top, panting like a dog. "I'm not an idiot."

Nico glowered at him. "Alright. You want a duel? Let's duel."

He brandished his iron blade and slashed at Artemis. Artemis dodged it, almost losing his footing. Nico slashed again and this time, Artemis parried back. They continued on, sword against sword. The noise of clanging metal filled the night.

Artemis was slipping with every blow. For a twelve year old, Nico was strong. Nico smirked as he watched Artemis trying desperately to regain his balance.

"You're weak," he said tauntingly "Percy should've never let you join. You're this close to losing everything."

"That may be," said Artemis, striking back "But I have something that can help me defeat you."

"Really? What is it?"

"My brain."

Without warning, he smacked the shield into Nico's face. Nico blinked dazedly before tumbling down to the ground. The cluster wasn't very high up, so hopefully Nico would escape with no major injuries or concussions.

Artemis leaped down, stumbling a bit before regaining his balanced. Seeing all the fallen warriors he had just defeated, he raised his weapons into the air.

"HA!" he cried in a loud voice "I AM ARTEMIS THE HUNTER! I. HUNT. YOU."

"Artemis! We—" said a voice behind him, but it got cut off because Artemis accidentally swung at it with his shield, knocking the speaker flat on the ground.

"HAAAA!" he cried, feeling the adrenaline rush through his system. He'd never felt anything like this before. It was exhilarating, this post battle feeling.

"Oh my gods, Percy are you alright?" cried Annabeth, rushing from within the forest. Artemis looked down and saw that he had accidentally hit Percy in the nose in his rapture.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Percy, clutching his nose "Just get me an ice bag."

~~/~~

"I am so sorry Percy," apologized Artemis for the nth time as they sat in the hospital ward "I should've looked first before doing anything."

"Its alright," said Percy. Annabeth held the ice bag against his nose. "The good thing about this is, we won!" The rest of his team cheered in triumph. "Yeah, take that Clarisse."

Nico approached Percy's bed. His head was bandaged. A red blot stood out against the whiteness. "Good job, guys."

Artemis looked at Nico. "I am so sorry about that. I didn't know you were friends with Percy. I shouldn't have—"

Nico chuckled. "It's okay. Friend or not, I still would've tried to get the flag. Nice offensive move by the way. I didn't know you taught him how to use the shield like that, Percy."

Percy looked confused. "I…didn't."

"Oh well," said Nico "Good job then, Artemis." He took Artemis's hand and shook it.

Chiron clopped into the room. "Is everyone alright?" Everyone responded with a "yes.".

"That was exemplary fighting you demonstrated there Artemis," commented Chiron "I didn't know you had it in you."

"So did I!" said Grover. He slapped Artemis on the back. "Way to go, boy genius!"

Everyone else congratulated him. As he watched them, Percy felt a tiny sliver of jealousy enter his heart. He was no longer the center of attention and it slightly bothered him. But he let it pass. Artemis did deserve it after all.

Annabeth looked up and frowned. "Hey…Artemis? What's that on top of your head?"

Artemis and everyone else looked up in confusion. Suddenly, the room became brighter. Something was glowing on top of Artemis's head. It slowly took form, becoming what looked like a symbol. It was a solid line, flanked by two large semi-circles. Wisps of dark energy whirled around the symbol.

"What is that?" asked Artemis.

"It's the symbol of your godly parent," said Percy. "Although I've never seen that symbol before."

"Who's symbol is that, Chiron?" asked Annabeth. Chiron, despite his calm façade, seemed a bit concerned.

"That's the symbol of the goddess Eris," he replied.


	5. Touch Me Not

**WHOA HI GUYS! Didja miss meh? Sorry I won't be updating so often cause school and shizz. Right now I'm sick and I have no homework so I'm taking advantage of this opportunity. Enjoy.**

**~~/~~**

**Touch Me Not**

**~~/~~**

"Eris? Who in Hades' name is Eris?" asked Percy as they sat in the library of the Big House. The orange glow of the hearth lit up the dark room. It was quiet, save for the noise of the crackling fire and their hushed voices.

"I know I've heard of her before," said Grover, stroking his tiny goatee "But I just can't put a finger on it—"

"She's the goddess of discord and strife," said Artemis suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him. He'd been silent ever since Capture the Flag. He'd been ghost-like the entire evening. But no one could blame him. Even a genius like him would need a lot of time recovering from that kind of news.

Annabeth pounded the armrest of her chair in understanding. "That's right! She is!"

Grover tapped his chin in thought. "So discord could have something to do with music….and strife could be like striking something…So she's the goddess of bad music and hitting things?"

Everyone suppressed an exasperated groan. Nico passed a hand over his face. "Grover, you have a brain right?"

"Yeah…why?"

"Have you ever thought of using it?"

Grover glowered at Nico and turned to Percy, pointing an accusing finger. "Percy, tell Nico to stop hurting my feelings! It's not nice!"

"Oh quit whining, goat-butt" said Nico, toying with his iron blade "Man up, would ya?"

Grover stood up abruptly, ready to plant a goat hoof on Nico's face. Percy put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Guys, stop. Now is not the time to engage in a pointless fight. We've got more important things to discuss."

Grover slowly sat down, giving Nico the _I'm-watching-you_ gesture. Nico merely smirked, running a tan finger along the edge of his cold blade.

"Alright, back to business," said Percy "So Annabeth, what does discord and strife mean exactly?"

"Discord is another word for chaos," explained Annabeth "So is strife. So in a way, Eris is the goddess of chaos."

"Yeah, but isn't she a minor goddess?" asked Nico "I mean, Artemis won't seem like a threat since his godly parent isn't one of the Olympians, right?"

"You can't assume that," said Artemis quietly "A goddess is a goddess, no matter what her status in the godly world is. Even if she isn't one of the Olympians, her powers still could be as powerful as any of the Olympian Gods."

"True," said Annabeth, thoughtfully twirling her blonde hair "But we still can't rely on just knowing what kind of goddess she is. We still need to know what she's done and what exactly her place is in Mount Olympus."

There was a sharp knock on the door. Everyone turned to look at it, curious why anyone would be up at 12 midnight hanging around the Big House. The door slowly creaked open and a mess of red hair poked its head in.

"Oh, hey Rachel," greeted Percy "Come in."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare stepped quietly inside and shut the door silently. "Chiron told me where to find you. What are you guys doing up?"

"Discussing stuff," replied Annabeth "What are you doing up?"

Rachel shrugged as she took a seat next to Nico "Couldn't sleep." She noticed Artemis and gave a small wave. "You must be Artemis. I've heard a lot about you, especially what happened tonight." She held out her hand. "I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

Artemis shook the offered hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Rachel." His eyes shifted down to her paint-stained pants. He frowned. "Have you ever considered changing your pants? They're a bit filthy."

Rachel looked down at her pants and shrugged. "They've been like that for as long as I can remember…"

"She's the new Oracle of Camp Half-blood," explained Percy.

Artemis looked back at Rachel and examined her from head to toe. "What exactly do you mean by "new oracle"."

"I'm the new host of the oracle Delphi," explained Rachel "She delivers prophecies through me. The old one was…well, let's just say she was too old to handle the spirit any longer."

"Hey Rachel," said Annabeth, suddenly getting an idea "You're a Greek Mythology enthusiast, right?"

"Only when I got into the camp, yeah. Why?"

"Would you happen to know anything about the goddess Eris?"

Rachel held up a finger. "I read something about her once."

"Great! Can you tell us stuff about her?"

Rachel got up and started browsing through the shelves. "The book is here somewhere. I read it in this very room." The group watched as she trailed her finger along the spines of the books, searching through countless volumes and series. They watched her jump from shelf to shelf, pushing aside books and pulling out some.

"Aha!" she cried "Found it!" She pulled out a large book and blew the dust off the cover. She opened it to the page and placed it on Annabeth's lap.

"Here we go," said Annabeth, using her finger as a guide "Eris, goddess of strife. Best known for her initiating the Trojan war." She read on, trailing her finger along the sentences. "Apparently she wasn't invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis and so she tossed the famous Golden Apple of Discord inscribed with "To the fairest one.", which was meant to make Hera, Aphrodite and Athena quarrel amongst each other. Then, the three decided to bribe Paris of Troy to pick who was the most beautiful among them and he picked Aphrodite, who bribed him with Helen of Sparta, which caused the war."

"So," said Percy "Basically, she's the goddess of arguments. Maybe we can attribute this to Artemis." He turned to boy in question. "Have you caused any bad arguments between people or something?"

Sudden images of his adventures with Holly, including his nearly successful earth-saving project, his mortal mother's near death experience, his encounters with Opal and all those other villains suddenly flashed through his mind. Artemis gave a small but half-hearted chuckle. "You have _no _idea."

Percy opened his mouth to question him when Annabeth gave a small gasp. "Oh no."

"What is it?" asked Percy, going over to Annabeth's side and looking at the page she was reading. It was the entire family tree of the Greek Gods, with gods tracing back all the way to Gaia, the goddess of the earth.

"Eris is one of the older gods." She pointed at her name at the top right corner of the age. "Shes the daughter of Erebus and Nyx, who are both the god and goddess of darkness and night respectively. Look at her siblings. Thatanos, god of death. Nemesis, goddess of revenge. Apate, god of deception. Morpheus, god of sleep. The Fates." She looked up at everyone else, her eyes full of concern. "This doesn't sound good guys. Her lineage is really bad."

"Well, don't worry," said Percy reassuringly "Artemis hasn't shown any signs of having evil powers, yet. Hopefully, it doesn't show any time soon, and if it does, we'll be ready for it."

_I wouldn't count on it Percy,_ thought Artemis, staring deep into the blazing fire before him. _I doubt anyone knows what Eris is really capable of doing. _

~~/~~

The next morning, Artemis sat at the edge of his bed, lacing and unlacing his fingers together in anxiety. While the whole camp was asleep, he was wide awake thinking about Eris and how she became his godly parent and what kind of powers he would have because of it. And whenever he tried to close his eyes, he'd always see a dark silhouette of a woman with long, dark, flowing hair, gazing at him with maliciously glinting eyes.

"Well?" said Percy, startling Artemis slightly. He shouldered his bow and quiver and pocketed his sword "You coming or what?"

"I need to speak with my father first," said Artemis.

"Why don't you IM him?"

Artemis gave him a look. "Alright. Why don't you tell me which mythological creature owns a laptop? Because I hardly believe that anyone in this camp aside from the demi-gods themselves are technologically literate."

"Not that kind of IM. I meant Iris Message."

"What in the world is Iris Message?"

"I'll show you." Percy pulled him up from the bed and led him to the saltwater fountain in his room. He pointed at the warm mist circling the basin. "See that? See how the sunlight makes a rainbow with the mist?"

"I see it…but what does it have to do with—"

Percy pulled out a drachma and held it in front of Artemis's face. "See this?"

Artemis was not amused. "No, of course not. It's not like it's in front of my face or anything."

Percy ignored him. "This is what you offer to Iris, goddess of the rainbow. She will then make a connection between you and the person you want to contact so you can communicate with him. Remember, one drachma per call. Use it wisely." He handed the drachma to Artemis.

Artemis fingered the gold coin. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Toss it into the rainbow."

Artemis did as he was told, and the coin vanished as soon as it touched the rainbow. The rainbow then began to shimmer slightly.

"Now you ask Iris to contact your dad," said Percy.

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow," said Artemis, not sure what on earth he was doing "I…I would like to speak to my father, Artemis Fowl Senior….please."

The rainbow began to shimmer some more until it finally revealed his father, sitting at his desk, looking worried and unnerved. He looked like he lacked sleep. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. His skin was paler than usual. The lines on his forehead were deeper and heavier.

"Father," breathed Artemis. Artemis Sr. heard the sudden sound and jumped violently, flinging his papers all over the place. He whirled around until he found the source of the voice. His eyes widened with surprise.

"A-Artemis?" he said "Is that you?"

"Yes Father. It's me."

"Where have you been?" demanded his father "It's been five days! Your mother and I have been worried sick! Butler couldn't trace you, so we assumed you were kidnapped or something!"

"No, Father. I'm alright," said Artemis reassuringly "I'm near Long Island, in America. I am in good hands, I assure you. Where is Mother?"

"She's at an art exhibit. Why do you ask?"

Artemis set his face, making sure he looking directly at his father. He needed answers, and he needed to make sure his father was willing to give them to him. "Good. She doesn't have a part in this conversation, anyway."

"What on earth are you talking about, son—"

"You've been hiding things from me, Father. Very important things."

Artemis Sr. blinked in confusion. But Artemis could very well see the knowledge hidden in those seemingly bewildered eyes. "What kind of things?"

"Like about Mother."

"What about your mother?"

"She isn't really my mother, is she?"

Artemis Sr.'s eyes widened with shock. There it was. Clear evidence. "What…what are you talking about? Angeline has been your mother since—"

"Don't lie to me, Father," said Artemis with a steely tone. He felt guilt eating at his heart for using that tone against his father, but he wasn't giving the right answers. "I am at Camp Half-blood. A camp for demigods. I am a demigod, Father. Eris is my mother."

Guilt flashed upon his father's face and he quickly averted his eyes. Artemis's heart constricted, seeing his father so vulnerable and eaten up by guilt.

"How is she my mother, Father?" asked Artemis softly.

His father took a deep breath and exhaled. He faced his son with sad eyes. "17 years ago, I was at a company party. We were celebrating the acquisition of the Teller finance company. Your mother was in a party of her own. That was when I met a woman, who looked strikingly like your mother. Only, she gave off a more…mysterious and…entrancing aura. We had a few drinks together that night and, the next thing I knew, I woke up in bed the next morning with no idea what had happened. A few days later, I found your mother holding a baby boy. She said she found him at the front porch, possibly abandoned by his mother."

"That was me…wasn't it?' asked Artemis quietly, trying to absorb the information.

His father nodded slowly. "But then she said that there was something strange about you. There was some sort of birthmark on the back of your neck. I researched on it…and it was her symbol. The sign of Eris."

With trembling fingers, Artemis felt the back of his neck. It was faint, but he felt the mark. Two semi circles and a line vertically crossing the center.

"Then I heard a voice. I hoped it was just the wind, but no, it was definitely her voice. She told me, 'This is a reminder of what you have done. Guide him well.'"

Artemis ran a hand through his raven hair. All this time, his father had been lying to him. Artemis had loved Angeline with all his heart, saved her from death even, only to find out that she wasn't really his mother. So many emotions crashed about in his head but he couldn't feel them. He felt numb. Numb with shock. Numb with anger. Numb with grief.

"I am truly sorry, my son," said his father sadly "But how could I tell you? Would you have believed me? Would you have forgiven me?"

Artemis looked straight into his father's eyes. "Mother wouldn't."

His father looked stung. He sighed again. "Just remember, if this didn't happen, you wouldn't be here."

He did have a point, but the questions continued to boil inside him. He decided to forget about them for the moment. "Good bye father."

His father's eyes looked sadder than before. "Goodbye, Artemis."

Artemis waved a hand through the mist, dissipating it. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, keeping a straight face. He felt Percy's hand rub his shoulder.

"You alright, bro?" asked Percy.

Artemis turned to face him. "Yeah I'm fine. Let's go."

Percy frowned and squinted. "You know….I never noticed…."

"Never noticed what?"

Percy stepped closer, too close in fact. "Your eyes are both blue and hazel…."

_D'Arvit._ He'd forgotten about that. "Er…well. It's a very long story. And if I tell you, we'd both be late for sparring so…let's go." He hurried out the door and into the pavilion. Percy followed closely behind, wondering why he was such in a hurry.

~~/~~

Artemis had never been so humiliated in his life. Sparring practice was just awful. Everyone had to sit in a ring and watch two pairs spar. Artemis was paired up with Travis Stoll and within ten seconds, he was on the ground, his sword ten feet away and Travis's sword pointed directly on his chest. He could still hear them laughing until now. Percy wasn't even there to help him.

_Stupid camp_, he thought angrily, _they know I'm inadequate for battle, and yet they continue to pursue it. What? Will they wait until I'm _dead _before they move on? _

In his anger, he didn't see the person walking in front of him. He collided with him, scattering the pile of armor the guy was holding. He instinctively held the guy's arm for balance.

"Forgive me," he said "I didn't see you." He didn't hear any consolation from him. _How rude._

"Didn't you hear me?" said Artemis indignantly "I just apologized. The least you can do is—"

Then he noticed something. The guy was frozen in place. His eyes were glazed over, as if he were in a trance. Artemis waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't move.

Artemis took a step back, wondering what happened to him. Suddenly, the guy blinked and shook his head. He still looked dazed, like he woke up from a nap. He looked at the armor scattered around him in confusion.

"What…what's this?" he asked himself "Who left these here?'

At that moment, a girl bumped into him, the same way Artemis had. However, the girl wasn't exactly as polite as Artemis was.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, straightening out her shirt.

The guy turned around to face her and glared at her. "You watch it!"

The girl looked appalled. "I should watch it? You were the one standing in the middle of the road!"

"This is your fault too! How about looking up before walking into someone, huh?"

"How dare you!" Suddenly, a huge argument erupted between them, complete with pushing, shoving, even slapping. A crowd formed around the two, watching them go at it. Artemis slunk back, horrified. _Did he do this?_

"What is going on?" demanded Chiron, separating the two.

"This idiot didn't see where she was going and decided to blame me for it!" said the guy, pointing an accusing finger.

"I'm the idiot? Who was the one standing in the middle of the road like a brainless moron?" spat the girl.

"That is enough!" bellowed Chiron, putting the two at arm's length before they could land punches on each other. "I don't want this to happen again. You will both go back to what you were doing and forget this ever happened, understand?"

The two glared at each other before leaving. The guy completely forgot about the armor he left behind, so Chiron sent satyrs to pick them up and bring them back to the storehouse.

"Whoa," said Percy, appearing beside Artemis "Talk about overreacting. What happened over here?"

"I don't know," said Artemis. But it was a lie. Something definitely happened. And somehow, he knew it was his fault.


	6. Wipe Out

**Hello my beautiful avid readers! I'm so so sorry I took so long to post. I had two weeks of hell week before Christmas break and the weeks before that were just as terrible. This is what happens when you're a senior. Anyway, here's the next one! I think you'd like this, cause I was really proud of this one (well not proud, but i was really happy with it) :D Merry christmas!**

**Wipe out**

It was 3 a.m. Artemis couldn't sleep. He spent the entire evening staring at his hands, remembering what he had done earlier that day. It was awful, the way the boy suddenly stopped, petrified as though he saw a basilisk. The way his eyes glazed over and slowly turned milky white. The way he couldn't remember anything and suddenly got into that fight with the girl.

How did this happen? Artemis wasn't sure he still had elf magic in him, and even if he did, the blue sparks would remind him. This wasn't elf magic. It came from within him. He was angry, really angry at that moment and that anger was released in the form of...that.

Then, Artemis had a thought. What if this was the gift his mother bestowed on him? All demigods share some sort of fragment from their godly parents, right? Could this be his power? If it was, he didn't want it. Being a boy genius was hard enough. Now he had to deal with causing dementia to anyone he touches.

Finally, he decided to let this pass. It only happens when he's angry anyway. Simple meditation and deep breathing exercises can calm his anger in an instant. He glanced at Percy's sleeping figure, his chest rising and falling in a soothing rhythm. He was lucky that his father Poseidon. At least he can't tamper with people's feelings or memories.

Artemis climbed into bed and closed his eyes. _Let it __go __Artemis,_he told himself, _there __is __nothing __you __can __do __about __it. __All __you __can do __is __live __with __it ,__and __live __around __it._

Easier said than done.

That night he had a dream. He was in a dark cavern, filled with razor sharp stalactites. The only exit was 50 feet above his head. The rest of the area was surrounded with boiling magma.

In front of him was a small space surrounded by crumbling Grecian marble pillars. As he approached it, wisps of icy mist gathered around him, making the hairs on his body rigid. At the center of the pillars stood a run-down marble throne. The mist was thicker at its feet, and so much colder.

He knew where he was, but couldn't be sure. He'd only read about this place a few times in his research. But gigantic hole up above was unmistakeable.

He was in Tartarus.

For a place supposedly filled with raging Titans, it was surprisingly empty. It was only Artemis, the boiling magma, and the marble structure. What was he doing here anyway? Who sent him here?

"Artemis," hissed a distant voice. Artemis jumped and looked around for the source. Suddenly, all at once, the wisps seemed to converge at the throne. They formed an image, an image of a tall, lean woman with sharp eyes.

"Who are you?" Artemis dared to ask. Suddenly, the mist cleared. He was right. It was a tall woman with raven black hair that seemed to move on its own. Her skin was pale, but had a dark glow in it. Her eyes kept changing, from icy blue, to flaming red, to blazing gold. A long blue dress flowed from her torso.

"Hello, my son," she said, her voice echoing hauntingly. Artemis's stomach clenched.

"Eris?"

"Very good. Although, knowing your intellect, I assumed you would figure it out much quicker."

Suddenly, rage filled Artemis. It was all her fault. _She _caused the incident to happen. "What have you done to me?"

Eris's thin lips stretched into a sly smile. "The question is, what have _you _done?"

"You gave me this awful gift-!"

"And what a powerful gift it is too," said Eris. Suddenly, she was inches away from him. "You don't realize it yet, but you can do wonders with it. You are more powerful than any demigod in that forsaken camp, even more powerful than that Percy Jackson. You can _control _minds." Artemis wasn't sure if it was the mist or his mother's ghostly hand caressing the back of his neck.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly as I said. One touch of a finger, and you can wreak havoc into someones mind. Confusion is the first step. It always is. But once you master it, you can seize their mind and make it your own."

"I-I don't understand."

Her hands cupped his face lightly. A shiver went down Artemis's spine. "My dear sweet child. Think. When one cannot control his own mind, he turns into an animal. You've seen that today, when that boy and that girl fought. You took him out of his consciousness, but didn't seize it. So he lost himself. But only for a few seconds. You merely touched him."

"But what wonders you can do if you held on longer, if you gave more power. The more powerful the touch, the longer they lose themselves. Then, you can hold on to their mind as long as you wish. Oh the wonders of claiming a mind! You could start riots, start wars in nations, take all the wealth in the world." Eris leaned into Artemis's ear. "You could rule the world."

Artemis swallowed hard. He thought he'd taken over the world with his innovations. With his global projects and fairy technology. He thought he could buy the world, given his wealth. Now, with just the right amount of power, he could be king.

"Yes," said Eris, her eyes blazing "You understand. I gave you a tremendous intellect for a reason. You'll know exactly who to target, and exactly who to control."

Artemis remembered his old self. Aside from finding his father, all he ever cared about was money. Wealth. Power. But he grew up. He had friends. He knew better.

"I am not putting anyone in danger," he said with a cold edge to his voice.

Eris chuckled and appeared on top of a pillar. "You say that now, my boy. But just wait. Your old self might surface and then what would happen? After all, chaos can also be experienced in oneself." She grinned one last devilish grin and everything faded to black.

~~/~~

"Artemis...Artemis!" called Percy, shaking his shoulders. Artemis blinked groggily. Somehow, his top half ended up on the floor while his bottom half remained on the bed. He rubbed his face, his cheek sore from spending the night flattened against the wooden boards.

"What happened?" asked Artemis.

"I don't know, but you look like you had a pretty crazy dream," remarked Percy.

"You have no idea," muttered Artemis.

Artemis decided to skip training and hang around the cabin pavilion. He watched the Demeter Cabin plant rice on the rooftop. He watched the Aphrodite cabin experiment on each other with different types of hair product. He inhaled the scent of oil fumes and smoke coming from the Hephaestus cabin, coughing violently as he did so.

He thought about what Eris told him. It may have been a dream, but he knew that it was more than real. Could he really control minds? Could he finally achieve what he'd been trying to achieve all these years?

No. He couldn't do that to the human race. A race that he himself was part of, no matter how rich or how smart he was. He couldn't do that to his friends, to Holly, to Butler, to No1. He couldn't to it to Percy or Annabeth. It was the mature thing to do. It was the right thing to do.

"Hey shrimp," boomed a voice above him. He looked up. It was Clarisse and her hugeness, flanked by equally large boys and girls.

"You're supposed to be in training," she sneered "Wait till I tell Chiron that you're cutting."

"I doubt you'll be able to walk 10 meters," he muttered. Unfortunately, Clarisse heard. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and brought him right up to her face.

"What did you say?" she said.

"I said please don't tell Chiron. I'll go to training."

Clarisse set him down. "Darn right. But first, give us your cellphone."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act dumb. Give us your fancy iPhone. We saw you playing with it yesterday. Now we want it."

"Don't you people have your own phones?"

"We don't _need _phones. We just want your phone because we know there is some strategy making thing in there. Thats how you won Capture The Flag."

"There is no-"

"Hold him down!" ordered Clarisse. Suddenly, two burly boys grabbed Artemis's arms by the elbows. Artemis tried struggling, but their grip tightened, and he swore that one more flinch, his arm will snap.

Clarisse reached deep into his pants pocket and pulled out his phone. She held it up triumphantly. "Now we'll win Capture The Flag for sure."

Artemis wanted to lash out at that horrible witch. His heart thumped in his chest, pumping boiling blood...and possibly godly magic. Without thinking, he held on to the boys' hands and let his power seep into their skin.

Just like the boy yesterday, they froze in place, their eyes slowly turning white. He remembered what Eris told him and tried to latch his mind onto theirs. Surprisingly, he did it with ease.

_Tackle __her_, he told them. Suddenly, they let go and began lumbering towards Clarisse. She didn't even get to turn around before being plummeted to the ground. Artemis grabbed his phone and dashed back into his cabin, locking the door.

He slumped to the floor and held himself. He couldn't describe what just happened. He didn't know what to feel. It was terrifying, horrifying...but at the same time, exhilarating. He'd never felt so much power in his life.

He looked at his hands. He didn't know whether to regard them as tools of triumph or weapons of destruction.

~~/~~

It was the third time he missed sparring practice. He knew he would get in trouble for it, but there was no way on earth he would endure the same humiliation again.

He, instead, tested his power again. He sat on a bench and randomly held his hand out to people, slipping into their consciousness to ask them to do favors. Fetch him water. Food. A magazine. His sword. etc.

He knew it was horrible. He was using them and he knew it. But it was too convenient. It was like he can do anything with a touch of his finger. Could this be how easy it is to take over the earth?

"Hey!" cried a voice in the distance. Percy stomped toward him, looking rather dirty and furious.

"What is it Percy?" asked Artemis, still lounging about.

"What are you _doing_?" demanded Percy "This is the third time you're missing sparring practice."

"So?"

"_So? _Chiron's going to find out and you're going to get kicked out of camp!"

"Honestly, I don't believe he'd do that, sending us out to be eaten by creatures or what."

"Well fine. But you know what else? You know who's getting the beating out of this? _Me. _'I think Artemis is getting lazy cause he's staying with Percy!' 'Oh Percy is such a bad influence' 'They should both be on harpy cleaning duty!' Do you know how _embarrassing _this is for me?"

Artemis got up and looked Percy straight in the eye. His eyes blazed with the same fury. "Who are _you _to tell me what to do? Who are _you _to make _my _decisions? Do _you _know how embarrassingit is for _me_ to attend sparring practice? Obviously not, since you're too good to notice."

"So you're going to risk my butt just so won't have to swing a sword?"

"You wouldn't understand. You don't know what it's like to be me, Mr. Send-everyone-else-to-the-front-of-the-line-except-Artemis."

"I was protecting you!"

"It doesn't matter! You're a stuck-up, sorry excuse for a demigod!"

"What is going on?" demanded Annabeth, holding Percy and Artemis apart by the shoulders "Why are you two fighting?"

"He won't man up and fight!" snapped Percy.

"He's too proud to understand what it's like to not be the best!" snapped Artemis. Percy glared at him, then cocked back his fist and landed a hard punch on Artemis's face. Artemis fell to the ground.

"Percy!" said Annabeth appalled.

"Don't get mad at me," said Percy. He pointed an accusing finger at Artemis. "Get mad at Mr. Egoistic over there. You know, you may be the smartest boy in the world. You may have done everything inhumanly possible. But take away your brain and you're just a sniveling coward in a suit!"

That did it. Artemis got up, power surging in veins. He was going to take Percy's mind and make him see how he _really _feels.

He dashed toward Percy, ready to grab him by the neck. He would've, if Annabeth didn't intercept it, if his hands didn't land on her neck instead.

Suddenly, Annabeth stiffened. Her eyes became pale white. Artemis let go of her in shock, but she didn't relax. For minutes, she lay there, frozen. Everyone started to gather around her. Both Percy and Artemis didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, she relaxed and fell unconscious. Percy sat her up and shook her lightly, trying to wake her up. It was deathly silent. No one dared to move or speak. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Annabeth opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings.

"Annabeth," said Percy gently "Are you okay?"

Annabeth locked eyes with him and, for some reason, looked terribly confused. And frightened.

"Who are you?" she asked.


	7. The Trial

**IM ON SUMMER BREAK GUYSSSSS hihihihi And I am OFFICIALLY A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE! Be thankful okay, cuz when I get to college I will have all the free time in the world and therefore I can satisfy you with my writing. Be warned: Expect stuff, but don't expect too much. **

**The Trial**

For a moment, there was silence. Once the words left Annabeth's mouth, everyone was struck dumb. No one, not any camper, not Percy, not even Artemis himself, could explain what had just happened. It could have been something as simple as a concussion. But that wasn't the case. What had happened was magic.

But Percy was determined that whatever happened was a matter of coincidence. He cupped Annabeth's confused face in his hands. "What? What do you mean? It's me, Percy. You know who I am right?"

But Annabeth's eyes remained vacant. Empty of any memory of Percy and of anyone in general. She looked around, at the crowd surrounding her, and suddenly burst into tears. Percy tried to hold her, but she shoved him away, as if she were shoving away a stranger.

No one understood her reaction, but Artemis knew very well what was going on inside her confused mind. She was afraid. Afraid of all the unknown faces staring down at her. Afraid of the boy trying to grasp her. He'd finally realized the extremity of his power. He'd inflicted everything he had onto Annabeth, and now he created a great chaos inside her mind.

Was this what his mother was telling him about? How when one loses hold of his mind completely, he loses himself entirely? It must be, for it was happening right in front of his face.

Chiron stepped through the crowd and saw Annabeth cowering as far away from Percy as possible. Annabeth saw the great centaur and burst into tears once again. Chiron grimaced. Someone must have informed him.

"Take her to the healing ward," he ordered "Put a blanket over her. She's still in shock." Immediately, Travis and Connor Stoll found a large blanket and, with much effort, led a trembling, thrashing Annabeth to the healing ward.

Artemis watched her retreating figure and felt a deep pang of regret in his heart. But not before he felt himself being tackled to the ground, the sharp edge of a sword at his throat.

He looked up and saw Percy, his sea green eyes blazing with fury. He'd seen Percy angry a while ago, but not this angry. This anger...it made him seem like he was ready to kill Artemis at any moment. Ready to give him a merciless death for what he had done.

"What have you done to her?" screamed Percy, pressing the blade harder onto Artemis's skin "What have you done?"

"I-I didn't mean-" Artemis managed in a strangled voice. Percy's knuckles were practically on his windpipe.

"Percy that's enough," said Chiron sharply. Percy didn't move. He sat as still as a rock on Artemis's chest, tightening his fingers around the hilt.

"PERCY!" Chrion's booming voice resonated around the trees of the camp. Percy slowly got up, keeping eye contact with Artemis, who sat up slowly, gasping for air. As Artemis got up, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek and sudden warmth of liquid. He touched his cheek and saw the blood. He looked up at Percy and saw that the bronze blade had his blood on it as well.

"There," said Percy, his voice full of bitterness and hatred "Now you'll always remember what you've done to Annabeth, and to me." He turned and marched off, his eyes looking straight ahead.

For the rest of the afternoon, Artemis stayed in the shadows of the camp. He didn't want to see or be seen by any camper. He didn't have the courage to even stay in his cabin, what with Percy wanted him dead. He hadn't seen Annabeth after the incident and wasn't sure if he even wanted to.

And for the first time in his life, he hated power. After so many years of being the youngest, most powerful criminal mastermind in the world, and after discovering he had been gifted with the deadliest power given to any demigod, he hated it. Despised it even. What good came out of it anyway? Trading a nearly-extinct lemur for money almost cost him his mother's life. Exposing the secrets of the faerie community endangered their safety. Even his father, who was an even greater mastermind than he, became a victim to danger.

He remembered the saying "With great power comes great responsibility." A cliche saying, but nevertheless true. He had great power, but he used it recklessly, and now he completely erased the memory of possibly the only friend he'd ever had since Holly and Foaly. Not to mention hurting the boy who saved him from being massacred by the birds back at the museum.

He hated himself. He hated his power. And, most of all, he hated his mother Eris. When she told him about his power, it wasn't meant to be a warning. It was like some sort of advantage that she wanted Artemis to realize and use. Well, her convincing worked. He used it. Now he has to pay for it.

Night had fallen when Jake Turner, an Athena camper, found him hiding in the trees. Artemis was being summoned to a hearing in the Big House right after dinner. Artemis nodded and followed silently behind. He passed the dining pavilion, not even giving a second thought about eating. The idea of being contemptuously looked at made him lose his appetite.

Finally, they reached the Big House. It seemed more menacing in the night, not like its usual bright blue self during the day. Jake opened the door and suddenly Artemis's legs stiffened. His heart began to race. Shame and guilt were threatening to overwhelm him.

_Get over yourself, Artemis, _he commanded himself _The sooner this is over, the better. _

He stepped into the living room and saw that it had been set up like a court. Three tall podiums, with Chiron sitting atop the tallest one. A group of campers and satyrs on one side-possibly the jury. Two tables evenly spaced apart-Travis Stoll and Percy on one table, Connor Stoll in another. There was an empty seat beside Connor. That must be for him. The defendant's table.

Artemis silently crossed over to his side of the court. He passed by Percy and, with much effort, glanced at him. Percy's eyes were bloodshot and slightly swollen. He had been crying.

Artemis averted his eyes and kept looking straight. He knew he was on the verge of having some sort of nervous and emotional breakdown, but he steeled himself. He was Artemis Fowl. He would never allow himself to have one. Never.

As soon as Artemis took his seat, Chiron rapped the table with the gavel sharply, calling the court to order. The room became silent. Artemis swallowed, trying to calm his heart.

"We are gathered here today to testify a crime committed by one of Camp Half-Bloods newest recruits." Chrion looked straight at Artemis. "Artemis Fowl."

All eyes turned to stare at Artemis. He felt like shrinking, but sat up straighter nonetheless.

"Artemis," continued Chiron "You have been accused of assaulting fellow camper Annabeth Chase using your godly given powers, which is a direct violation of Camp Half-Blood rule number 394." He pulled out a large book and slammed it down on the table. He flipped it open to the a page and read. "All campers must use their godly given powers fairly and not as a means to assault and/or gravely injure their fellow campers." He slammed the book closed. "Shall we call on the witness?"

Percy got up and approached the witness's podium. He shot a deathly glare at Artemis. Artemis would've given him a day long apology right then and there, but the words wouldn't form. He decided to look away.

"Percy Jackson," said Travis, reading from his notes "Could you please tell us what exactly happened at exactly 3 pm this afternoon?"

Percy's eyes stayed locked on Artemis. "I was looking for Artemis. He'd missed sparring practice for the third time and I was taking the blame for it. It wasn't fair. I've never missed practice in my life and here I am, taking _his crap-"_

"Language, Percy," Chiron said sternly.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Anyway. I finally found him lounging about like he was the king of the freaking camp. I confronted him about it and he got all arrogant about it, saying how I have no right to boss him around, when I have _every right-"_

"Get to the point, Percy," said Travis.

Percy let out a breath. "Then Annabeth stepped in between us to stop the fighting, but for some twisted reason, this guy decided to take his anger out on _her _when she had absolutely nothing to do with it!"

"What exactly did you see happen to her?" prompted Travis.

"Well, she kind of became stiff and her eyes became white. Then she collapsed and when she woke up, she lost her memory. She didn't even know who I was." Artemis heard Percy's voice crack at the last line. He looked up and saw tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

"Is that all?" asked Chiron. Percy nodded, swallowing. "Well then, thank you Percy. You may take your seat."

Percy stepped off the podium and kept looking straight, not acknowledging Artemis's presence any longer. Artemis knew he deserved that. He wished he didn't even exist either.

"May we call on the defendant to present his side of the story?" Chiron's voice brought him back to reality. Artemis got up and approached the podium. Once he got up, he saw the multitude of disapproving faces staring back at him. The worst was still Percy. His eyes still stared daggers.

"Artemis Fowl," said Connor Stoll "Do you wish to refute anything Percy Jackson has mentioned?"

Artemis was silent. He kept looking at the crowd. There was no point in lying or using his great intellect to conjure up a false story. Everyone had seen what had happened.

"No. Everything is true," admitted Artemis. He looked at Percy. 'Except I didn't mean to hurt Annabeth."

"So, you decided to wipe out her memory for no apparent reason?" asked Connor.

"No. What I did...was meant for Percy."

He heard several people gasp and murmur. Percy's eyes narrowed to slits. Chiron slammed his gavel for order.

"Why?" asked Connor.

"It was like he said. I was angry. He insulted my intelligence and, out of pride, my emotions got the better of me. I wanted to unleash everything I had onto him, to make him regret what he said to me. But Annabeth stood in the way..."

"Artemis," said Chiron "You do realize that this doesn't change the fact that you are still guilty of a crime by intending to do harm to a fellow camp mate?"

"Yes I do." Artemis took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Percy. Truly. I didn't mean-"

"Sorry?" Percy was trembling with anger. "_Sorry?" _He flipped over his table and stormed over to the podium. "Is that all you can say? SORRY?"

"Percy, sit down," said Chiron. Several Hephaestus campers tried to detain Percy with much effort.

"SORRY WON'T GET ANNABETH'S MEMORY BACK!" screamed Percy, struggling against the strong arms holding him back "BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE'S FORGOTTEN EVERYONE IN THIS CAMP. BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE'S FORGOTTEN EVERY SINGLE GOOD MEMORY SHE HAD IN HER LIFE. BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE'S FORGOTTEN ME!"

Percy finally fell to the ground. The Hephaestus campers let him go. Artemis saw the tears streaming down Percy's face.

"Because of you," said Percy softly, his shoulders shaking from the heavy sobs "She's forgotten that I love her."

Artemis was taken aback. _He loves her? _Then it hit him. The way Annabeth looked at Percy whenever she'd try to convince him to do something. The way Percy would concede to her and the way his face lit up whenever he saw her. The way they were around each other, playful and friendly. No, more than friendly.

In love. They were in love.

Artemis suddenly felt the pain of a thousand shards of glass piercing his heart. He ruined a relationship, a relationship that had probably lasted for so many years, all because of his pride. And he thought facing an angry Percy was bad. Seeing Percy pained and hurt was even worse.

"Well then jury," said Chiron facing the jury "What is your final verdict?"

Dosseldorf stood and cleared his throat. "Ve da jury have come to ze conclusion zat Artemis Fowl iz guilty of ze crime."

Artemis made no response. He continued to stare at Percy's hunched and shaking form. He watched as Nico, Rachel and Grover came over and embraced him tightly, trying to calm him down.

"Then it is settled," announced Chiron. He pounded the gavel. "Artemis Fowl has been found guilty of the crime committed against Annabeth Chase. And as punishment..."

Artemis continued to gaze at Percy. Thousands of apologies formed in his mind, but none came out of his lips. None of them were good enough to ease Percy's suffering.

"Artemis Fowl, you are hereby permanently disowned as a Camp Half-Blood recruit and are banned from entering the camp premises for the duration of your life and the camp's existence."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Before you read this chapter, please read the love note I wrote for y'all 3. Also forgive me if my writing sounds really rusty. I havent written for nearly a year HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Also this chapter may make or break the entire series. So...yeah. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA**

**Night at the Forest **

This is not the first time Butler has ever felt useless. In fact, he had spent most of his adventures with his principal either dead, in place he was totally unfamiliar with, or in situations that made more sense to Artemis than it did to him. The times he thought he lost Artemis completely were the times he felt the most useless, but those times never lasted too long. Somehow, someway, Artemis would always find his way back, and Butler knew it.

But this was the first time he had lost Artemis and he had an incredible sinking feeling that Artemis wouldn't come back.

It had been three months since the incident, and Butler had beaten himself up internally since then. He questioned his value as a body guard. What kind of bodyguard would let his principal be kidnapped by a bunch of kids and watched as they crashed into the ocean, car and all?

Most days he blamed it on his age. _I knew I should've retired ages ago_, he said to himself constantly _I'm too old for this_. Experiences with magic, elves, goblins and whatever creatures existed below the earth made him too weary. He'd gladly trade them all for a year long vacation in Fiji.

But he knew Artemis couldn't deal with all of this alone, even if he kept convincing Butler that he could. A part of him knew that Artemis needed his help, whatever it was.

Some days, he thought of the incident and how bizarre it was, even if he was more or less fluent in extremely bizarre occurrences. First, Artemis was attacked by a flock of golden mechanical birds, then taken by three kids wielding swords and daggers into a taxi, then driven off into the ocean. Somehow, these things did not make any sense, but then again, since when did things ever make any sense?

_Maybe it's a new kind of scam_, he thought. _You never know what kids are planning nowadays._ But it seemed too unlikely. The bird acted too lifelike to be manufactured by some kids, and why would kids be holding daggers and swords anyway? And what kind of scam involved drowning their target?

It was all too much, but Butler knew he had to do something. It's been three months. He had been sitting around for far too long. But what could he do?

On one particular day, he had been lying in bed, racking his brains for the best possible solution to find Artemis, when a knock at the front door broke his train of thought. He got up and opened the door, surprised to find that no one was outside. At least, he thought no one was outside.

"Good morning Butler," said a voice beneath him. He looked down and saw the space shimmer into a small form. The form removed her helmet and shook her short ruby colored hair loose.

"Good morning captain," he said.

"That's commander to you, in a few days." Holly looked at the hall behind him. "May I come in?"

Butler stepped aside and let his visitor pass. "Commander?"

"Yep. Trouble's retiring. Said he's too old to deal with this "pile of dung" as he said. He's giving the position to me. Said it fit a person of my nature." She flicked a strand of hair away from her face.

"Well excuse me, Ms. Cocky."

"Please," said Holly "This is me being humble. You should've heard my conversation with Foaly. He looked like he wanted to slap me after I was done."

Butler chuckled. He was surprised he even could.

Holly looked around. "So, where's the Mudboy?"

The feeling of hopelessness came back to him. Holly saw his face fall.

"Butler, what's wrong?" she asked.

Butler quickly shook his head. "It's nothing," he said brusquely and went to one of the sitting rooms. Holly caught up to him quickly.

"Butler, where's Artemis?" she asked him as he sat down. The feeling overwhelmed him. How could he answer her, when he himself didn't know where he was? He put his head on his hands. He felt Holly grip his shoulders tightly.

"Butler," she said very tightly "Where. Is. Artemis?"

Butler looked up at her and saw her eyes. Blue and Hazel. One of hers and one of Artemis. They were narrowed, not yet on the verge of panic. They bore into his. His mouth was dry. He didn't know where to begin. He swallowed.

"He's dead," he said in a hoarse whisper.

Holly's narrowed eyes slowly widened in horror. Her grip on his shoulders tightened. "What?"

"He's dead. I watched him get kidnapped. They drove him over the bridge and into the ocean. I couldn't save him." The last sentence caught in his throat. _I couldn't save him_.

There was silence. All Butler could hear was the sound of Holly's breath as she tried to control herself and the sound of her nails digging into the cloth of his jacket. Finally, Holly straightened up and began walking around.

"Are you sure he's dead?" she asked.

"Holly, I don't think anyone could survive falling into the ocean. Especially not in a car."

Holly stopped pacing. "What did the kidnappers look like?"

Butler looked at her. "What?"

"What did the kidnappers look like?"

"I don't know…they looked like kids but they had knives…they were probably some new gang or—"

"What happened before they drowned him?"

"A flock of golden mechanical birds attacked us."

Holly looked at him strangely. "A flock…of golden mechanical birds?"

Butler realized that sentence sounded even stranger aloud. "Yeah. We were in the Museum of Natural History in New York, then all of a sudden these birds came to life and chased us." Holly continued to look at him. "It sounds weird, I know. But that's exactly what happened."

Holly tapped her chin. "That _is_ weird," she muttered.

"Well anyway," said Butler "I don't know how those birds had anything to do with it, but long story short, those kids took Artemis and drowned him. I don't know how he could've survived that."

"Not unless magic was involved."

Butler started. "What?"

Holly started walking out to the hall. Butler hastily got up and followed her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going back down to Haven," she said, making her way out to the front door where her shuttle was parked "I'm going to find Artemis."

The ride going back down to Haven was supposed to be as smooth as it was when she rode up to the human world, but Holly decided that knowing Artemis's safety was more important that any necessary shuttle precautions. She rode at top speed, every gear at full throttle, down the magma chute. She didn't even bother to look back at Butler, who, in the cramped space, clutched at the sides of the shuttle for dear life.

Finally, they stopped at the port of Tara and made their way through the throng of faeries to the LEP station. They dashed up to Foaly's computer lab. Holly held her palm to the scanner and keyed in her access code before leading Butler into the vast glass room. Foaly sat in the far corner, updating a blog. He nearly fell out of his seat upon seeing the large bodyguard.

"You could've knocked you know. I was doing very important LEP business." he said irritably, adjusting his glasses. Butler caught sight of a rather voluptuous centaur before Foaly hasily closed the window.

"No time to explain," said Holly, heading straight for a large computer screen. She pulled up a map of the human world and typed in a few coordinates.

"Well can you at least tell me what you're doing?" said Foaly.

"Artemis is dead," said Butler. Foaly's jaw dropped.

"_Dead?_" he repeated in disbelief "The Mudboy is dead?"

"He might not be," said Holly, keeping her eyes trained on the screen "Where did you say you lost Artemis?"

"New York," said Butler. Holly typed in the coordinates and the map zoomed into the small island of Manhattan. She continued to watch the screen.

"What are we supposed to be looking at?" asked Butler.

"Last time Artemis was down here, he cut his finger on a piece of glass," explained Holly "I gave him a bandage."

"Yes, so Mudboy got a boo boo," said Foaly "So what?"

Holly gave Foaly a look. "The bandage I gave him wasn't a bandage. It was a tracker." She pulled out a small, round, flesh colored adhesive from her pocket.

"What is that?" asked Butler.

"They're called SkineThines," said Holly "They're thermal trackers that look like bandages but melt in your skin once you put them on."

Foaly's eyes widened. "So YOU'RE the one who stole my prototypes!"

"Sorry Foaly," said Holly unapologetically "But you never gave them a test run."

"I was going to," muttered Foaly "After I finished the 3rd season of my favorite soap opera."

"Wait," said Butler 'If they're thermal trackers, then why isn't Artemis showing up on the screen?"

"Well, the thing about these trackers is that it works in both the human and magical universe. So if I enter a magical field to this map…" Holly typed something on the keyboard and immediately, the map changed. Smaller islands became visible in different areas of the human world. Hidden areas appeared in the small boundaries between some countries.

"Now…if magic had something to do with this, Artemis should show up," said Holly.

"How would he show up?" said Butler "Artemis has been missing since—"

Suddenly, a faint red glow appeared over a small island near Floria. Holly, Butler and Foaly stared at the small light on the screen. It pulsed gently against the plasma.

"No way," breathed Butler. _Artemis was alive? _

"There he is," said Holly, zooming in to the area and saving the screenshot into her wrist computer.

"Yeah but where is 'there'?" asked Foaly.

"I have no idea," said Holly "But we're never going to find out just standing here." She looked at Butler. "Are you coming or what?"

Butler stared at the island. How the hell would they find that island if it can only be seen in a magic field? And would he be able to get in? He was just as magical as a normal human being. What if there was some force that would kill him before he could even step foot in the place?

"Are you coming?" repeated Holly.

Butler breathed in. He needed to get to Artemis, whatever it took. Even if he had to deal with magic all over again.

"Let's go."

Artemis sat at the edge of his bed, pondering. He replayed the scene over and over again in his head. The way Annabeth froze under his grasp, the way her eyes glazed over. The way Percy reacted when she couldn't recognize him or anyone else.

His mother said it was a gift. A powerful gift. He thought it was too. It was what he had always secretly wanted after all; to make people do whatever he wanted. It was a tempting thought: a criminal mastermind with the power to control minds.

But after this incident, it seemed more and more like a curse to him. It almost cost him a life. It cost him other people's trust in him. It made Percy hate him. And now he was banned from Camp Half Blood.

He stared up at the moon, glaring down at him from the window. Maybe he should leave. Nobody wanted him around anyway. He might end up wiping everyone else's memory if he stayed. Or worse.

It was one of those extremely rare times that Artemis found himself missing people. His mother, his father, Beckett and Myles, Butler, Holly, Foaly, even the repulsive Mulch Diggums. He always told himself he'd have to be pretty lonely to start missing Mulch.

The door creaked and Percy stepped in, sheathing his sword. His clothes and face were dirty with sweat and soil. Artemis figured he had been training, but he was not surprised that Percy came back so late. He must've taken his anger out on all the practice targets in the arena.

"What are you still doing here?" said Percy coldly. It took everything in Artemis to keep a straight face. He knew Percy never liked him from the beginning, but knowing the reason behind the iciness in his voice made him feel terrible.

"I was just about to leave," said Artemis. He couldn't even look at Percy.

Percy didn't move. He didn't even so much as glance at Artemis. A thick silence hung in the air. Artemis could feel Percy's hatred radiating towards him, slowly melting his facade. He thought he saw Percy's hand shake as he gripped his pen tighter.

"Good." Percy whispered finally. His voice was a mixture of hate and pain. Artemis bit his lip, then gathered whatever belongings he had, and headed out the door. He brushed past Percy, and he could swear he felt him tremble. He didn't even look back to see Percy's shoulders shake with silent sobs.

Nobody escorted him to the camp's exit. Artemis followed the narrow path leading to Thalia's tree, ignoring the disdainful stares of the watch guards. He didn't bother to look at them. The sooner he was out of camp, the better.

Nobody even told him what his fate would be beyond the barrier. What if he encountered those birds again? Or worse? He had heard some young campers talk about facing sheer death if they stepped outside the camp premises. If the camp wished for him to die…

He couldn't think of that now. Maybe he could get a plane back to Dublin without running into any creatures. He'd finally be reunited with his family, and Butler and—

A loud _thump_ in the distance stopped him in his tracks. He looked around. He was a few feet away from Thalia's tree. Artemis tried to listen for the sound, but all he could hear were the sounds of crickets and the snoring of the dragon guarding the tree.

Then he heard a faint sound. The sound of groaning behind the cluster of trees to his left. It didn't sound particularly dangerous; it sounded almost human. Artemis advanced toward the noise. The groaning grew progressively louder with each step. Artemis had no weapon to grip, but with enough precision and luck, he could probably use his power to knock out whatever was hiding in the dark. At least, he hoped it would.

He kept advancing, carefully listening for the sound, until he finally tripped over a log. Or what he thought was a log. Artemis lifted himself onto his knees and saw that it wasn't a log, but a person. A person with a disfigured arm, laying almost motionless in a small pool of blood, shivering in pain with cold sweat running down his face.

Artemis crawled nearer to the injured person. It was a boy around his age, with pale skin and messy black hair. His glasses lay askew and broken on his scratched face. And on his forehead, was a faint scar, the shape of a lightning bolt.


End file.
